Chapter 356: Transformation of Corpse into Taoism, Taiyin Refining Form
The Ghost Immortal Sect's predecessors were all ruthlessly betrayed by the Skull God, forcing them to refine into Hundred Soul Banners for the Xima Mountain Master to command. The Corpse Immortal Sect suffered even more miserably; according to Gong Mengbi's calculations, every last one of them had been transformed into the Skull God.
The Skull God's evil deeds still resonate today. Perhaps even during his own lifetime, there were still frustrated seekers on Mount Xima. Though they couldn't find the true Dharma and had taken unorthodox paths, they diligently pursued their path, treading cautiously. But now, if we kill all the practitioners on Mount Xima, there might be some casualties, but even if we kill 90% of them, there's a good chance some will slip through the net.
The Skull God did evil and ruined the Taoist tradition of Xima Mountain. He received retribution in this life and reaped what he sowed. He was refined into the Skull God and has been suffering ever since.
When Gong Mengbi asked about the Skull God, the Skull God was silent for a moment, and then told him everything he knew without hiding anything.
Gong Mengbi had asked these questions when he was weak. At that time, he was worried about being cheated by this old guy, but now he no longer has the courage. At the same time, he has made some progress in cultivating his mind and can barely pretend to be a good person.
As expected, he finally got the information he hadn't asked the Skull God back then. "Xima Mountain is a place of accumulated Yin. Since our cultivation in Xima Mountain is all about surviving death and transcending the Yin, it's particularly well-suited to cultivation methods. But before my sect settled in Xima Mountain, there was a forest of ghost-faced peaches in this place of accumulated Yin. They've been nurtured by Yin energy for thousands of years."
"Peach wood is yang, yet it grows in a place of accumulated yin. It's the yang within yin, life within death. My predecessors who practiced Ghost Immortal Magic once relied on this place to comprehend the wonderful principle of yang arising from yin. The Corpse Immortal Sect also buried themselves here after becoming zombies. Later, I tricked those predecessors into entering the Hundred Souls Banner. The Corpse Immortal Sect may have also been transformed into skull monsters. I don't know if this Ghost Face Peach Forest has been moved and used for other purposes."
"Apart from this Ghost Face Peach Forest, there is only the Four Wood Formation of Mulberry, Willow, Sophora japonica and Poplar, which can deal with the four afflictions of birth, old age, sickness and death. However, for you, these should not be obstacles."
Gong Mengbi played with the small golden furnace in his hand, pondering slowly, and asked, "Besides the Ghost Immortal Sect practicing the Soul-Retaining Technique, what does the Corpse Immortal Sect practice?"
This Skull God actually knew, "The Corpse Immortal Sect's cultivation also originated from the Ghost Immortal Sect, but one has detached from their remains, while the other guards the corpse. They refine their forms after death in order to be reborn—that was the original plan."
"But refining one's body after death is incredibly difficult, and surviving from death is even more difficult. In the end, I switched from refining my body to refining my corpse, practicing both corpse transformation and spirit retention techniques, transforming myself into a flying corpse demon. This can barely be considered immortality."
Gong Mengbi understood, "Do you have the methods to practice the Body Refining Method and the Corpse Transformation Method?"
The skull rolled in the air and said, "I don't know the body-refining method. When I was alive, no one in Xima Mountain knew it. But I do know the corpse-transforming method. I'll tell you about it."
Gong Mengbi extended his hand and invited him to sit down, saying, "Then tell me about it."
The skull floated in the air, and his ghost transformed into an old man in a wide robe with big sleeves. He stood in front of Gong Mengbi, as tall as his waist, and sat on a stool like a child.
Gong Mengbi poured him a cup of tea, and the Skull God slowly spoke and told Gong Mengbi all the methods of practicing the corpse transformation technique.
Gong Mengbi listened to him and slowly deduced in his mind.
The corpse transformation method is not a profound Taoist method. It is actually a corpse refining technique, which transforms the body after death into a wandering corpse, a flying corpse, or undecayed bones. It has some tricks, but it is indeed an unorthodox method.
Gong Mengbi sighed and said, "The corpse is rigid and the seven spirits are condensed. How can the spirit suppress it? The condensed Yin energy will further harm the spirit. I am afraid that the more I refine, the further I will go into the inhuman path."
"It's always been demons that try their best to transform into humans, but today I see humans also trying their best to transform into demons. It's really sad."
The Skull God said, "Being alive is more important than anything else. As long as I'm alive, it doesn't matter if I become a demon."
Gong Mengbi shook his head slowly and did not argue with him.
The Skull God was disappointed and asked, "Have you figured out how to deal with Ximashan?"
Gong Mengbi said, "Xima Mountain is easy to deal with, but it's not Xima Mountain I want."
The Skull God was shocked and asked, "What do you want?"
Gong Mengbi smiled and asked, "Do you want to go back to Xima Mountain with me, or stay in Lanyin Temple to look at the mirror?"
The Skull God's expression became uncertain as he pondered whether to go on this journey. Finally, he sighed and said, "I'll go back to Xima Mountain with you."
Gong Mengbi nodded and said, "Okay."
Gong Mengbi was not in a hurry. He pondered the corpse transformation method in his mind for a few days, and gradually extracted a trace of the principles of the body refining method from it.
The Daoist sect possesses the art of Taiyin Form Refining, which can be considered a legitimate method, but it is subject to numerous limitations and numerous tribulations, making success extremely difficult. If one cannot achieve success through cultivation in life, achieving enlightenment through Taiyin Form Refining after death would be even more difficult.
Most people have no other options before trying this. They find a treasured place and hide their bodies there, lurking there like a chirping cicada. The bodies remain the same as they were in life, with nails, claws and hair growing as usual. They realize the principle of yang being born from yin, and have a period of body refinement according to their own merits and deeds.
It often takes hundreds of years to refine one's body. During this period, if the corpse is discovered, the Taoist method will be broken and all the previous efforts will be wasted. Or, one may never be able to return to life and eventually die in the process.
Only a very small number of them can lurk underground like cicadas, and then break out of the ground and fly away.
Although Gong Mengbi did not know the Taiyin Form Refining Technique, he understood the general principle.
The method of transforming corpses has some shadows of the method of refining body, but not much. Most of them are still the ways of refining Yin and refining corpses.
Gong Mengbi didn't need any of the secrets of corpse refining. Speaking of Taiyin magic, who in Xima Mountain was closer to Taiyin than he was in practicing the Moon-Running Method? Instead, some of the secrets of the Form Refining Method were of some reference value to his practice.
He directly abandoned the corpse transformation method, grasped the shadow of the body refining method obtained from it, and combined it with what he had learned, naturally creating a strange thing that seemed neither alive nor dead.
The Skull God saw that he had innovated the corpse transformation method and changed it beyond recognition in just a few days, but he had already become numb in his heart.
The Skull God has seen too many miracles happening to Gong Mengbi.
It was Gong Mengbi who stretched out his hand and gently knocked three times on the skull of the Skull God, knocking out a stream of deathly aura, which was absorbed into the small golden furnace and blended with the smoke in the small golden furnace. He then put it on his body and turned into a pale, bloodless young man.
The Skull God's jaw dropped, and Gong Mengbi caught it. He said, "You...you..."
Gong Mengbi put his jaw back in place, stroked the skull, and made it smaller. He hung it around his waist like an accessory and said, "The death energy I borrowed from you, of course, will look a bit like you."
This was not what the Skull God wanted to say, but that in that instant, Gong Mengbi seemed to have broken the bond between life and death, turning himself from a living person into a dead person—a dead person who was proficient in the art of body refining.
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