Bang!
Casually swatting the little fox to the ground where it couldn't get up, Ji Xiang then sealed the fox's three souls within its body, rendering them immobile.
Following this, the Tai Xu Treasure Light appeared, spewing out numerous books like a universe within a sleeve.
One, two, three, four... Ji Xiang swiftly perused the White Lotus Sect's classics. The sudden appearance of the Tai Xu Treasure Light made Zhang Sanfeng extremely vigilant.
Watching a large number of books fall from that inch of nine-colored radiance, Zhang Sanfeng picked up two and flipped through them. He immediately said in surprise, "Aren't these all White Lotus Sect books? Which county's White Lotus Sect leader are you?"
Ji Xiang: "Not exactly. Isn't Ying Tian the main altar of the White Lotus Sect? I just ransacked it."
Zhang Sanfeng's expression was peculiar and full of wonder. He tossed the classics in his hand back into the pile of books: "Then why do you need so many White Lotus Sect books? These books are utterly illogical. The scriptures are copied piecemeal from here and there, all jumbled up... Look at this one, its core is Buddhist scripture! Isn't this the 'Chanzha Shan'e Yebao Sutra' of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva! How did it become written by the Unborn Father?"
Ji Xiang's eyes lit up, and he took the book: "Yes, yes, these kinds of books are the most useful."
"You want to cultivate Buddhism?"
"Not exactly, I just want to convert these things."
Under Zhang Sanfeng's curious gaze, Ji Xiang gathered the selected useful books.
Three volumes of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's three great sutras. One volume of the Diamond Sutra. One volume of Manjushri Bodhisattva's scripture. Five volumes of Guanyin Bodhisattva's scripture.
Three volumes of the Guiding King Bodhisattva's scripture. One volume of the Huiji Vajra Sutra. One volume of Laozi's 'Taishang Laojun Xuwu Ziran Jing'. Three volumes of the Taiping Jing.
These Buddhist and Daoist classics, through years of immersion in the vast wishes of the White Lotus Sect's main altar, had acquired immense divine power. Furthermore, they were their own annotated versions, making them truly unique and highly "sacrificable."
There were also thirty volumes of usable scriptures and scrolls printed by the White Lotus Sect, such as the 'Maitreya Descent Sutra,' 'Lotus Sutra,' 'Great and Small Ming King Ascension Sutra,' and 'Three Yang Sacred Scripture.'
Then, with a sweep of his hand.
Ji Xiang spoke, "There is no second Way under heaven."
"Sages have no two hearts."
Whoosh! The characters on the numerous scriptures rapidly disappeared! Ji Xiang held the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva sutra, and the text within twisted and changed, vanishing only to reappear out of thin air. In the end, large blank chapters remained, with only strange characters forming in the first ten pages, gradually twisting and solidifying.
Bang! The book opened. At this moment, the other White Lotus Sect classics that had been sacrificed had turned into empty yellow paper, devoid of a single character. All the ink had vanished without a trace, along with the magical power contained within and the intangible, faint wishes of their authors, leaving no trace.
Ji Xiang's eyes scanned the new scripture. It was a new spell that could counteract this soul transformation.
The characters on the scripture finally solidified completely. As soon as it appeared, it emitted waves of immortal light, illuminating the entire thatched hut as if it were filled with gold and jade!
"The 'Ultimate Wisdom Sutra of Great Spiritual Consciousness.'"
"Immortal Scripture, Rank Six, High Grade."
Ji Xiang carefully examined it to confirm its tier. This time, after sacrificing dozens of White Lotus Sect classics, he obtained this precious scripture. As soon as it manifested, immortal light permeated the air. If it weren't for the suppression of the two immortals within the thatched hut, its radiance would have instantly attracted many prying eyes outside.
Although it was a Rank Six Immortal Scripture, the manifested phenomenon was terrifying. Ji Xiang estimated that this was because a complete immortal scripture was forged this time, unlike the incomplete ones he had obtained previously.
Simultaneously, a great calamity of the mortal world suddenly materialized, seemingly from the netherworld. It appeared abruptly, leaving no room for reaction, and in the blink of an eye, it had entwined itself around Ji Xiang's head. Its ominous nature was so potent that even Zhang Sanfeng, an outsider, could see the vibrant blood-red color at a glance, as if splashed with ghost blood. It was clearly not a good omen.
"Three Corpse Gods, come out."
Ji Xiang's brow twitched. Just as they returned to his body and were in a complete state, the Three Corpse Gods leaped out. Then, the three clueless fellows unhesitatingly slammed themselves against the main hall!
Little Miss Shen was startled, and Zhang Sanfeng was also stunned. However, he then saw the dead Three Corpse Gods rise again with the gathering of incense, and Ji Xiang, observing the state of the Three Corpse Gods and looking up at the blood-red omen, withdrew the Three Corpse Gods back into his body.
These astonishing changes made Zhang Sanfeng exclaim in wonder!
"What exactly are you doing?"
Zhang Sanfeng was immensely curious about what Ji Xiang was doing, as it seemed to exceed his understanding. Although he had some guesses, he dared not confirm them. Was he scattering all those White Lotus Sect classics and then reassembling them into a new spell?
"You wouldn't be..."
Hearing Zhang Sanfeng's guess, Ji Xiang gave an affirmative reply. With a wave of his hand, the collapsed wordless books were automatically rolled up by the wind and stacked aside:
"More or less, but it's not scattering the words. Instead, these useful scriptures and classics were 'sacrificed.'"
"Sacrificed?"
Zhang Sanfeng's brows furrowed tightly. Sacrifice was not a good word.
It sounded like a crooked path... Oh, this person is a Celestial Demon, so it's definitely the righteous path.
"Hey! This sacrifice is not that sacrifice. What I sacrifice is the doctrine of the scriptures. More accurately, it's more like refining. The object of sacrifice is myself. All methods return to one, and then a completely new deduction is made. These useful classics are just the 'materials' I need for deducing new spells."
"The more powerful the spell, the higher the grade of materials needed for deduction. Of course, this deduction is not without its price."
Ji Xiang raised his hand and pointed to the blood-red omen above his head: "This is called the Tribulation of the Mortal World. It can be considered an enhanced version of the 'Ten Demonic Nine Tribulations.' The higher the grade of the deduced scripture, the more powerful the Tribulation of the Mortal World. As far as I know, scriptures in the world are divided into mortal and immortal realms, and immortal scriptures are further divided into seven grades..."
"A hundred methods converge, none exceeding the realm of the Three Teachings..."
Ji Xiang's words greatly shocked Zhang Sanfeng. Could this technique be...
"Is this a capability all Celestial Demons possess?"
"Or is it... a characteristic of the Great Dao?"
Zhang Sanfeng's words were astonishing, and Ji Xiang was slightly surprised, "As expected of Master, to even know about the characteristics of the Great Dao."
"Does Master also have it? Among the immortals hiding in the mortal world, does Master rank first?"
Slightly flattering him, Zhang Sanfeng grunted twice, "No need to flatter me like this. After all, I was also enfeoffed by the dynasty. Having the characteristics of the Great Dao is normal! But yours is much more useful than mine! This is outrageous. Creating scriptures and classics at will, only to endure some tribulations. You are a Celestial Demon. Aren't you afraid of tribulations! Heaven and Earth are unfair!"
Ji Xiang: "This characteristic of the Great Dao is divided into innate and acquired. I thought I created it myself, but it still requires a dynasty's enfeoffment?"
Zhang Sanfeng: "Dynastic enfeoffment is only one source of the characteristics of the Great Dao. Not everyone has this honor. Look at those National Preceptors, or those who concurrently hold the Three Dukes, they have status and are particular. How many National Preceptors have there been throughout history? And with more enfeoffments and the infusion of national destiny, the power of the Heavenly Dao accumulates, naturally leading to it. During my Yuan Dynasty, I was enfeoffed several times. Across two dynasties, seven or eight emperors consecutively conferred titles upon me. Even if I were a pig spirit, I would have achieved cultivation by now and be close to ascending to immortality."
"But this characteristic of the Great Dao was not something I intentionally sought. To be honest, these emperors forced so many titles upon me to produce a recipient who could represent the Daoist sect. Now, this characteristic is truly inconvenient to use."
Zhang Sanfeng sighed, as if obtaining the current characteristics of the Great Dao was a very bad thing.
"Many people throughout history have wanted to obtain the characteristics of the dynasty, but in my opinion, this thing is truly a burden."
Ji Xiang finally understood that the old man was showing off.
"Master, let's get back to the point."
Ji Xiang's expression turned serious, preparing to cast spells on the two sleeping individuals:
"Scholar Feng and Little Fox Ten are afflicted by the Heavenly Net Calamity Curse, originating from a Chaos Immortal. Master, you don't seem to know about it?"
Zhang Sanfeng ran his hand through his messy, bird's-nest-like hair, his eyes revealing confusion: "What is a Chaos Immortal? I've never heard of it, never."
Zhang Sanfeng didn't know about Chaos Immortals, and Prince Lu had never mentioned this category of immortals.
Ji Xiang pondered. Perhaps such immortals had only recently appeared. Combined with the fact that Lord Fire wrote scriptures without filling in the names, yet he could know the usage and cast them from the Inner Scenery Divine Tablet, this indicated that new methods of becoming immortal might have emerged, and they were related to the power of curses and calamities.
The emergence of new things, breaking traditions, and welcoming the new was naturally a good thing, but for those who had always practiced traditional arts, it was not.
Especially when such new things involved the power of curses and calamities.
"Heavenly Net... could it be the Heavenly Net King?"
Ji Xiang murmured, then acted, performing the operation according to the method of breaking the curse provided by the new scripture.
The soul was undergoing transformation, using the physical body as a "chrysalis" as a medium. Therefore, to stop this transformation, the soul had to be extracted and separated from the body first.
Ji Xiang took out four talismans, flicked his finger, and the four talismans flew to the distant wall and fixed themselves there.
Zhang Sanfeng suddenly said, "You've already learned it? Just by looking?"
Ji Xiang chuckled dismissively, "Not quite. Although I have a photographic memory, I don't have the ability to learn spells instantly, but..."
With a flash of his palm, a wordless heavenly book with only two pages appeared.
"The Eight Dragon Cloud Talisman Brightness Heavenly Book. As long as you know the key to casting the spell and write it down on it, you can skip the learning step and directly activate the completed spell."
"But the medium required is..."
A large amount of incense smoke suddenly rose from Ji Xiang, burning fiercely. Within the burning, a wisp of Tai Xu Flying Xuan Qi appeared and began to imprint itself onto the Brightness Heavenly Book!
The power of the spell suddenly surged, like great waves surging within the thatched hut!
Zhang Sanfeng was naturally astonished, and the Tongwei Daoists outside the house could sense the turbulent energy emanating from the Patriarch's thatched hut!
The power of the spell permeated the air, making it difficult for them to breathe. The incense energy almost filled their chests. Lian Buyun, the Daoist in green, immediately ordered the other Daoists to disperse and go to the backyard of Tongwei to avoid the area, then looked at the thatched hut with great confusion.
Today, Junior Brother Ji's return carried a strange aura, and even Master seemed so.
Inside the thatched hut, Ji Xiang followed by chanting the new spell:
"All souls of the myriad realms, follow the divine to come and go; dreams are hazy, wandering and transforming; three souls and seven spirits, the numbers of metal and wood..."
The bodies of the two individuals trembled, and then two ethereal figures emerged from them. The three souls and seven spirits briefly condensed, and at this moment, the so-called "missing" parts could be seen directly.
Looking at the soul form of Scholar Feng, the Shuang Ling soul at his brow had dispersed into a pool of twisted liquid, without fixed radiance, but transformed into a hazy, dim mist. The Shuang Ling soul dispersed, becoming nourishment for the soul transformation technique. Those with strong Shuang Ling souls could even be born with knowledge, while a person who lost their Shuang Ling soul would become a walking corpse.
The two missing spirits were the Shi Gou Po, responsible for crisis awareness, and the Fu Shi Po, responsible for the main essence. At this moment, their positions, where they should have been, appeared shriveled and empty. Their radiance had become like grains of rice, and their heads and abdomens were like rotten flesh, constantly twisting and shaking, like mud.
"This is terrible, the head of the human soul is rotting, no wonder they can't wake up."
"Your soul-summoning spell actually works, I can't even summon them."
Zhang Sanfeng commented on the miraculousness of Ji Xiang's spell again.
Ji Xiang continued to chant the scripture intently,
"Flesh and bone return to the earth, the soul's qi knows all..."
The soul forms of the two individuals moved, and the consciousness of the three souls gathered, detaching from the soul forms. Ji Xiang moved his hand, and two spiritual senses were sealed within two blank talismans on the wall.
"How did you do this?"
Zhang Sanfeng asked curiously.
Ji Xiang explained, "The physical body is the carrier of the soul. The three souls are the carriers of consciousness. With three souls, there is consciousness, and with consciousness, the seven spirits can be activated. This is the unity of the human body."
"However, at this moment, by separating the spiritual senses, it's like when a person dies and becomes a ghost, and a ghost dies and becomes a 'Xian.' A ghost, losing its ghostly form, becomes a 'Xian,' an intangible ghost. If a 'Xian' dies again, it becomes a 'Xi' that only has consciousness but cannot make any sound. If 'Xi' dies again, it becomes a 'Yi' with no sense of existence. If 'Yi' dies again, it will completely perish, and nothing of the past or future will remain."
"The so-called spiritual senses are 'Xi' and 'Yi.' In the end, ghosts are what souls become after losing their physical bodies and being tainted by yin energy. The core of a ghost is 'Xian,' 'Xi,' and 'Yi.' In comparison, it's like a person needs a body, soul, and vital energy to live."
Then, he proceeded to segment the empty soul forms and dismember the parts undergoing soul transformation.
The Shuang Ling soul, like a puddle of mud, and the two shriveled spirits fell to the ground, still wriggling.
The spiritual senses within the souls had been transferred. This technique was incredibly skillful. Just as Zhang Sanfeng was about to praise it, he saw the wriggling rotten souls on the ground, and his expression changed drastically.
What was this? Even after losing the core of its existence as a soul, it could still wriggle?
Ji Xiang then mixed the remaining souls and spirits together, forming an initial state where they were indistinguishable, and sealed them into two other blank talismans. This completed the preparatory work.
Two talismans sealed the 'Xi' and 'Yi,' and two talismans sealed the initial souls. Then, the four talismans were individually affixed to the two individuals. About an hour later, the eyes beneath the talismans slowly opened.
Scholar Feng was the first to wake up, but his eyes were filled with confusion. He instinctively tried to sit up, but his body didn't obey, and he fell off the bed with a bang!
"It hurts so much! This, this, this! Why can't my hands and feet obey me!"
"Heavens, I can't hold a brush anymore. Forget about taking the imperial examinations, I probably can't even eat!"
Ji Xiang pulled him up:
"Alright, stop crying. It's just that the new seven spirits in your body haven't fully recovered yet, so you can't control your body."
"Quickly tell me, what happened to you? Where are the two from Quanzhen Sect, and your wife?"