‘I wonder, if I used the art of disguise, would he still recognize me?’
Fang Qing’s heart stirred. He sat down. “May I know what the previous person came to ask about?”
He could roughly guess that person had been Li Rulong, and was somewhat curious.
“Heh heh… Just a fool, that’s all. He wants to end this chaotic age. Who does he think he is? An ancient Human Emperor?”
The old blind man laughed hoarsely despite himself.
Fang Qing likewise fell silent. Leaving aside the chaos under heaven, and leaving aside the land of Ancient Shu, even in Ba Commandery alone, the great turmoil had the shadow of a Purple Mansion faction like the Black Chong Sect behind it. How easy could it be to end?
Thus, no matter how difficult life was for the common people, before he cultivated to the Purple Mansion realm, he would not even consider such a thing.
But toward those who knowingly attempted the impossible, Fang Qing still held a trace of the most basic respect.
“Perhaps… People must always have hope. Who knows, maybe it can be done.”
“How young indeed… It makes this old blind man feel as though he has seen his younger self—just as high-spirited and fearless…” the old blind man murmured, then came back to himself. “This fellow Daoist, what do you wish to ask?”
Fang Qing thought for a moment, then said, “I wish to find a body-tempering cultivation method. Preferably one with low consumption, good effects, and one that can also increase the spirit…”
To be honest, he did not hold much hope for this. After all, he had visited the bookshops in every market.
There were body-tempering cultivation methods, yes, but they either had low consumption and little power as well,
or they were tyrannical, but consumed greatly, and had no effect of tempering the spirit.
It could only be said that Fang Qing’s demands for an auxiliary cultivation method were somewhat greedy, which was why he had yet to find one to his liking.
When the old blind man heard this, however, he was startled. “Where did you hear about this old blind man’s past deeds?”
“Mm?”
Fang Qing looked puzzled, but inwardly thought, “There’s a chance!”
He immediately said sincerely, “May the old sir please point me down the right path. I do still have some spiritual resources.”
Smack! Smack!
As he spoke, he flung two more precious fish onto the stall.
“Cough, cough… No need to use glib words on this old blind man.”
The old blind man coughed, then felt the spirit fish on the stall. “Very well. It seems you truly do not know… Then this old blind man shall tell you.”
“Among all methods in the world, where there is gain, there must be loss. For a fellow Daoist like you, wanting this and that, it is somewhat greedy… However, those top-tier body-tempering methods can indeed do as you say… As it happens, when this old blind man traveled the Hidden Treasury Domain in the past, I once heard of a few such methods, such as the ‘Dragon-Elephant Prajna Yoga Secret Art’… Dragon-elephant refers to divine strength; prajna refers to wisdom. It is a top-tier body-tempering method that takes both physique and spirit into account.”
“Oh? Old sir, do you have this ‘Dragon-Elephant Prajna Yoga Secret Art’?”
Fang Qing’s eyes shone brightly.
“Of course… I do not.” A trace of fear flashed across the old blind man’s face. “That place is far too strange. This old blind man survived by the narrowest of margins, left both eyes there forever, and obtained only one magic artifact and one incantation manual. This method is called the Horse-Headed Vajra Protector Divine Art. It is the temple-protecting cultivation method of a ‘Horse-Headed Vajra Temple’ in the Hidden Treasury Domain… It is said to contain some of the essence of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Yoga Secret Art as well, able to strengthen physique and spirit… Most importantly, its consumption is very low. If one even has a root of wisdom, there is no need for specially made spirit medicines such as butter oil; one need only cultivate bitterly to make continuous progress…”
“The Horse-Headed Vajra Protector Divine Art?”
Fang Qing instead calmed down at this moment. “Such a wondrous method, and old sir is willing to give it to me?”
“Heh heh… It cannot be called a wondrous method. It is merely a heretical method.”
The old blind man’s face seemed to show a hint of reminiscence. “First of all, this Horse-Headed Vajra Protector Divine Art is a fragment. Of the original four stages, this old blind man only has the visualization diagram and oral formula for the first stage, so its value is much lower. Aside from that… this is a cultivation method from the ‘Hidden Treasury Domain.’ There are quite a few hidden dangers in it, so it depends on whether you dare cultivate it… Precisely because of this, its price is extremely cheap, at least much cheaper than those top-tier body-tempering methods. As long as you bring ten more portions of spiritual resources of the same kind, this old blind man will sell it.”
“A cultivation method from the Hidden Treasury Domain? What hidden dangers are there?”
Fang Qing grew even more curious.
“The cultivators of the Hidden Treasury Domain are different from us here in Ancient Shu. Their orthodoxy comes from the Great Snow Mountain, and what they cultivate is not the dantian qi sea, but the three wheels and seven channels… At the beginning, when they enter the Dao, they are called ‘monks.’ Afterward come ‘gurus’ and ‘Dharma Kings’…”
The old blind man spoke slowly. “Those monks of the Hidden Treasury Domain do not need the first mouthful of true qi to begin cultivation. Instead, they must worship a ‘guru,’ rely on him for cultivation, and receive his ‘Great Empowerment Precepts.’ It is said that the great empowerment method is the foremost secret of the Great Snow Mountain, with supreme and extraordinary qualities… Heh heh, this old blind man does not know what extraordinary qualities this empowerment method may or may not have. I only know that after believing in a guru, accepting his precepts, and offering worship to the ‘one and only secret tutelary deity,’ the life and death of these monks are completely held in the guru’s hands. Even if he wants those disciples to slaughter their parents and friends and then commit suicide, they cannot disobey.”
“They actually don’t need true qi to enter the Dao?”
Fang Qing was greatly astonished.
“The orthodoxy of the Great Snow Mountain is different from our immortal Dao, after all…” the old blind man said. “Some of those gurus have no taboos, meat or vegetarian, and enjoy selecting ‘consorts’ to attend them. They can even bestow supreme might upon their consorts… There are also those who demand their believers offer up wealth and fleshly bodies to refine sinister magic artifacts such as thangkas and gangdong. In short… it is extremely strange and bloody.”
“So, what flaw does this Great Snow Mountain cultivation method have?”
Fang Qing felt that if he had to do things like that, he probably would not be able to accept it.
“Heh heh… It requires no blood sacrifice, progresses with astonishing speed, and has many benefits. Most of the cultivation methods that leak out of the Hidden Treasury Domain are like this. It’s just that… after you cultivate divine abilities, if you encounter a guru from the Hidden Treasury Domain, perhaps with a wave of his hand, you will obediently become his disciple or protector…” the old blind man sneered.
‘Damn… What kind of rotten place is that?’
Fang Qing felt his scalp go numb.
This Horse-Headed Vajra Protector Divine Art, no matter how he looked at it, seemed maliciously designed to make one refine oneself into a Dao soldier!
Fang Qing had also heard of the methods of Dao soldiers in the Bihai Sect. They were very similar to this!
‘Wait… I have the Daosheng Pearl. What I fear least are hidden dangers in cultivation methods.’
‘At the very least, since it’s cheap, I’ll exchange for it first, then decide whether to cultivate it.’
A look of hesitation appeared on his face. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth. “I’ll exchange… But old sir, I have one more question. Could it be that the immortal Dao cultivation methods of our Ancient Shu also have similar hidden dangers?”
“The immortal Dao values life. Our breath-ingestion cultivation methods of Ancient Shu naturally cannot possibly teach you to cultivate yourself into some sort of protector or vajra…”
The old blind man smiled faintly.
“That’s good then…” Fang Qing had only just relaxed a little when he heard the old blind man say, “You only need to be careful not to reveal the name of the cultivation method you practice.”
“This… What does that mean?”
Fang Qing suddenly felt his hair stand on end. “Old sir, if you explain clearly, I will buy this Horse-Headed Vajra Protector Divine Art at once.”
“Heh heh. What you cultivate is a [Ji Water] cultivation method. The only thing you need to be careful of is those who cultivate the same method. Their origins are similar, and if they encounter a bottleneck, devouring another person’s entire magic power can be used to break through.” The old blind man sneered. “Of course, such a method is the conduct of the demonic path. In our Ba Commandery, you only need to be wary of those few Dao Foundation clans, as well as late-stage breath-ingestion experts among loose cultivators—especially those few famous for [Ji Water] cultivation methods… So, you need not tell this old blind man the specific name of the cultivation method you practice, lest you think this old blind man intends to harm you…”
‘What kind of rotten place is this?’
Fang Qing was completely speechless. He took out portion after portion of spiritual objects. “Then… within this commandery, are there any famous [Ji Water] clans?”
“The Tianshui Luo Clan!” The old blind man cheerfully accepted the spiritual resources, took out a tattered, pitch-black thread-bound book from his robes, and tossed it to Fang Qing. “You entered the immortal path because this old blind man read your fate. This old blind man does not wish to see your body perish and your Dao vanish either. I hope to see the day you achieve Dao Foundation…”
“The Tianshui Luo Clan?!”
Fang Qing seemed to chew these four words in his mouth. He put away the thread-bound book, cupped his fists, and took his leave.
Every step he took was extremely heavy, and his brow looked as though water might drip from it.
‘The Tianshui Luo Clan?’
‘Is it that Luo Clan?’
‘Near my home is indeed the county seat under Tianshui… It seems there’s no mistake. This clan actually has a great Dao Foundation cultivator! Fortunately, I did not act rashly before!’
‘[Ji Water]? Could there be a problem with the Book of Contemplating the Black Mausoleum? No… Could that Jiuchuan Water Pavilion that sold the cultivation method be a fishpond and bait secretly set up by the Luo Clan?’
‘So, without realizing it, I had already fallen into a trap?’
At this moment, a bitter smile could not help appearing at the corners of Fang Qing’s mouth…
……
Bihai Sect, Pill Island, cave abode.
After closing the door of the cave abode and, as usual, pasting on a protective talisman, Fang Qing finally let out a long breath.
“The customs here are still simple and honest. They can soothe my wounded heart…”
He patted his storage pouch, and all his gains from this trip appeared.
Several stalks of glossy emerald Green-Qi Ginseng, a few spiritual objects of the metal and fire attributes, and that Horse-Headed Vajra Protector Divine Art!
“Now that I have the main ingredient, after collecting another batch of supplementary materials, I can attempt to refine ‘Ginseng-Green Spiritual Water’…”
Fang Qing breathed out slowly, then looked toward the Horse-Headed Vajra Protector Divine Art.
Originally, according to his thoughts, this secret manual with pitfalls could just be used for reference. He might not necessarily need to truly cultivate it.
But now?
Among all the immortal cultivation methods of Ancient Shu, were there any that had no pitfalls?
‘No wonder pills that advance cultivation over there are so scarce and so fiercely sought after… So it turns out they directly use people as pills. Human pills…’
‘Forget it. One pit is a pit, two pits are also pits…’
‘If I cultivate enough problematic methods, maybe I can even get them to bug out…’
He opened the Horse-Headed Vajra Protector Divine Art, and his nose caught a strange fragrance.
This fragrance was faint and not rich, yet it made his qi and blood stir slightly.
“The cultivation methods of the Hidden Treasury Domain begin with the empowerment of the three secrets… The three secrets are ‘body, speech, and mind.’ The body is the great mudra, speech is the true mantra secret spell of the tutelary deity, and mind is the visualization diagram…”
Gradually, Fang Qing gained some understanding of this Hidden Treasury Domain body-tempering cultivation method.