Chapter 394 - 68: Body of Ten Thousand Spirits

"Attack!"

The Demon Monk Lingxuan’s expression changed, and he roared loudly:

"Everyone, attack together!"

He had sparred with the Mu Family’s Three Fierce before. Although he hadn’t used his full strength, he was well aware of the power of outsiders.

For Zhu Ju to have broken through the Mu Family’s Three Fierce’s blockade, his strength must be extraordinary.

SWOOSH!

The group of Evil Cultivators unleashed their Magical Artifacts and attacked one after another.

One held a string of Human Bone Prayer Beads. With a toss of his hand, over a hundred ghastly white streams of Spiritual Light rained down like a meteor shower.

These Human Bone Prayer Beads were crafted by polishing the forehead bones between the eyebrows, the part of the human body richest in Spirituality. A string of one hundred and eight beads meant that one hundred and eight lives had to be taken, and it contained an extremely malevolent Qi.

Refined using a Secret Technique, each bead possessed the power to shatter stone and sever metal. The combined might of all one hundred and eight beads was even more terrifying.

Another held a Gang Cave and blew into it with all his might.

The so-called Gang Cave was an Evil Dao Magical Artifact, a little over a foot long. It was made from a human tibia, wrapped in various Spiritual Objects. The sound it produced was sharp and ear-piercing; hearing it felt like falling into the Netherworld.

When the sound emerged, the entire city’s populace would descend into madness.

Yet another held a Basu Da, an instrument refined from internal organs, which contained the grievances of five ghosts.

...

The group of Evil Cultivators let out strange shrieks. In an instant, the area surged with resentful energy and malevolent Qi that shot to the heavens, nearly obscuring everything.

Over the years, the Demon Monk Lingxuan had gathered many subordinates, each one a notorious Evil Cultivator in the Grotto Heaven World.

Every single one of them had an ace up their sleeve.

Compared to Cultivators from the outside world, each of these Evil Cultivators possessed the combat power of the Dao Foundation Realm.

Furthermore, they were proficient in Divine Soul Secret Techniques.

With so many Evil Cultivators joining forces, plus him presiding over them, this was the capital he used to cooperate with the Mu Family’s Three Fierce.

"Hmph!"

Facing the incoming assault, Zhu Ju’s brow furrowed. Murderous intent gleamed in his eyes as a sharp Sword Light appeared.

Ten Directions Killing Dao!

The cold, blinding Sword Light bloomed like a lotus, expanding outward from Zhu Ju’s position.

Wherever the Sword Light passed, the ghastly white Spiritual Light, Yin Souls, and resentful energy immediately disintegrated, and the various Magical Artifacts let out a series of CRACKS.

SWOOSH!

The Sword Light cleansed everything. Where it passed, Magical Artifacts shattered and flesh flew. The hundred-zhang area became a macabre dance of blood and gore, a scene both brutal and spectacular.

With one sword strike, over ten Evil Cultivators were slaughtered completely.

Compared to the almost tangible killing intent of the Ten Directions Killing Dao, the so-called resentful energy and malicious thoughts were utterly fragile.

SWOOSH!

BOOM...

Sword Qi Thunder Sound!

The Demon Monk Lingxuan, who was just about to flee, had only just turned his body when a flash of Sword Light pierced through him.

The savage Sword Qi erupted within him, tearing him apart on the spot. Only a single eyeball remained intact.

A world-shaking sword strike, purging demons and evil.

Such power left both Huike and the hot-tempered Zhishou shaken to their core, unable to compose themselves.

"Good!"

"What an excellent Sword Technique!"

...

The town was now in ruins.

Houses had collapsed, and corpses littered the ground.

Zhu Ju turned over a few bodies on the ground and asked Huike:

"Why were they harvesting the vertical eyes from between the eyebrows?"

Huike’s expression was complicated.

"What other reason could there be?" Zhishou snorted coldly.

"Besides arduous cultivation with orthodox Methods, one can also open a Celestial Eye by purifying the bloodline of the Three-Eyed Divine Race from others. The essence of our Three-Eyed Divine Race bloodline is all contained within that vertical eye."

"Moreover..."

He gritted his teeth and said,

"Although I hate to admit it, a Celestial Eye opened through this Evil Technique is also relatively more powerful."

"Oh?" Zhu Ju raised an eyebrow, confused. "The Evil Technique is superior?"

"Not exactly," Huike said, shaking his head. He thought for a moment before speaking slowly,

"The Method we cultivate is called the Ten Thousand Spirits Body Forging Technique. It was created by the ancient sages to cope with a great change in the Dao. In theory, this technique can absorb the marvels of ten thousand spirits’ bloodlines to forge an immortal golden body, a Flawless Treasure Body. Unfortunately, it was never fully developed."

"Cultivating this technique allows one to refine not only the bloodline of the Three-Eyed Divine Race, but other bloodlines as well. The Evil Skill, however, seeks rapid success. It purifies the bloodline of the Three-Eyed Divine Race, making the Celestial Eye more powerful, but in doing so, one loses their original heart."

Zhu Ju had a sudden realization.

"Fellow Daoist, you mean that while the Evil Technique opens a more powerful Celestial Eye, it sacrifices the ability to refine other bloodlines?"

"Correct."

Huike nodded and took out a thick book.

"This is the Ten Thousand Spirits Body Forging Technique. It contains the insights of my lineage. Fellow Daoist, feel free to take a look."

"Daoist Zhu," Zhishou interjected,

"There are several versions of the Ten Thousand Spirits Body Forging Technique circulating in the Grotto Heaven. The version my master has is the most complete and ancient. Even the one treasured by the Royal Family is inferior to this one."

Evidently, after what had just transpired, Zhu Ju had earned their trust, which was why they were willing to show him the Method.

"Thank you."

Zhu Ju reached out to take it and asked casually,

"Do you two know how to leave this Grotto Heaven?"

"Before, we did not know," Huike said.

"But now, with the strange activities in the various forbidden lands, passages to leave the Grotto Heaven have opened up. Fellow Daoist, you can leave at any time."

"The so-called forbidden lands..."

"...are actually places where the ancient sages entered seclusion unto death to escape disaster. Unfortunately, none of them were able to escape the great calamity."

Zhu Ju’s eyes lit up.

Being able to leave the Grotto Heaven at any time was for the best. Now, he just needed to find Pei Jingque.

As they spoke, he had already finished flipping through the Ten Thousand Spirits Body Forging Technique.

Just as the two had said, the technique was indeed incomplete, but its conceptual scope was astonishing.

Zhu Ju even suspected that the person who created this technique might have been an Immortal.

Otherwise, why would they treat the bloodlines of dragons and phoenixes as mere playthings to be disposed of at will?

’Body of Ten Thousand Spirits...’

Zhu Ju shook his head gently.

"This technique’s concept is profound, the likes of which I have never seen before. But in practice, it can only be used to refine the bloodline of the Three-Eyed Divine Race."

’No wonder!’

’No wonder the Demon Monk Lingxuan resorted to an Evil Technique.’

’The True Dharma is the same; it also can’t refine other bloodlines. Since that’s the case, why not just purify the bloodline of the Three-Eyed Divine Race?’

"In the past several thousand years, have you not tried to fully develop this technique?"

"Well..." Huike looked embarrassed.

"To be honest, this is already the version our lineage has developed and improved. Even the complete steps for opening the Celestial Eye are a development from the last thousand years. Before that, opening a Celestial Eye was purely a matter of luck."

’Uh...’

Zhu Ju was speechless.

"The wisdom of the ancient sages was profound, far beyond what we can compare to," Huike sighed.

"If you are interested, Fellow Daoist, you are welcome to study it."

This technique was supposed to be a closely guarded secret of his lineage, but with the current changing situation, the invasion of demons from the outside world, and the fact that everything in the Grotto Heaven World would soon undergo a massive transformation, the Cultivation Technique had become less important.

Besides, with Zhu Ju’s Cultivation and strength, he might not even care for the Method they practiced.

In fact, that wasn’t the case.

The Ten Thousand Spirits Body Forging Technique was a profound Method, and some aspects of it bore a striking resemblance to his own Primordial Heart Technique.

If he could comprehend it, it would be of great benefit to him.

After returning the book, Zhu Ju took an Ancient Talisman from his storage pouch, a trace of regret in his eyes.

The Three Talents Talisman!

A crack had appeared on the Ancient Talisman, interrupting the flow of its Qi.

’I wonder if it can still be repaired?’

*

*

*

SCREECH!

The cry of the Vermilion Bird was loud and sharp, shaking the eight directions.

The Fierce Flame that shot into the sky changed the color of the clouds and melted mountains into lava as its terrifying power gathered in the air.

BOOM!

Three massive forces collided mid-air, creating a visible shockwave that rapidly swept out for a hundred li.

Two figures, one male and one female, one dressed in black and the other in white, appeared nearby.

"How can this be?"

The woman frowned.

"How long has it been since Pei Jingque of the Bright Void Sect advanced to the Golden Core Realm? Her strength is actually this formidable. Even with the two of us combined, we can’t gain the upper hand."

"Indeed."

The man narrowed his eyes. He looked at the figure wreathed in Fierce Flame with apprehension and said tentatively,

"Could it be some kind of Secret Technique that stimulates her potential?"

"Possibly."

The woman licked the corner of her mouth, then shook her head with regret.

"Forget it. That High Grade Magical Treasure alone is difficult enough to deal with, and her Vermilion Bird Heaven-Burning Flame is truly impressive."

"There are plenty of other good things out there. There’s no need to get entangled with her here."

"Then let’s go." The man didn’t object. With a flash, he and the woman transformed into streaks of light and retreated.

"Pei Jingque..."

"We’ll remember you!"

Behind them,

the Fierce Flame receded.

Pei Jingque gave a deep look in the direction the pair had fled, then flew down and uprooted a Spiritual Plant.

’My love...’

As she circulated a Spell, a certain heart-to-heart connection through Qi emerged. She soared into the air and headed north.

With her High Grade Magical Treasure, the Three-Flame Simurgh Fan, and her Vermilion Bird Heaven-Burning Flame at Great Success, although her strength had no further room for improvement, she was by no means a weak existence in the Early-Stage Golden Core Realm.