Transcendent Dawn

Chapter 625: Chapter 0625: Corpse Dissecting and Feather Transforming (Please Subscribe)

Heixuan Sect.

“Our sect resides on the Heixuan Mountain, the leading cultivation sect in Heize Mansion. Xu Changqing, are you willing to follow me in practising the Dao Method?”

Inside the hall, a Daoist priestess who appeared to be in her forties posed a serious question.

“I am willing.”

Xu Changqing, his face devoid of sadness or joy, answered while kneeling on the prayer mat.

Not long after he had taken the ‘Dao pill’ that day, this Daoist priestess, Danyunzi, had arrived. After examining his origins, she brought him directly to the Heixuan Sect.

Today was the day he would officially join the sect.

“Good, I bestow upon you the name— Chang Qing Zi (Evergreen)! From today onwards, you are a disciple of our Heixuan Sect.”

Danyunzi nodded respectfully.

She was reasonably satisfied with this disciple, after all, she had found him without much effort. His background was clean, his aptitude and comprehension were not bad, and he could be of great use with a little guidance.

“In our Heixuan Sect, there is one Sect Master, four Elders, and twelve true disciples. From today onwards, you are the thirteenth…”

She asked Xu Changqing to stand, then briefly introduced the situation of the Heixuan Sect.

“So few people…”

Xu Changqing muttered to himself.

“Hehe…” Su Lu chuckled inwardly: “Regardless of the Dao Method, cultivation requires resources… If one can attain immortality oneself, why accept disciples and help outsiders? In my eyes, having over a dozen people in the mansion is already quite a lot, there must be a reason.”

“Our Heixuan Sect resides within the Heize Mansion and has a cooperative relationship with the official bureau. We are obligated to eliminate their problems and disasters. Therefore, the Sect Master and some elder disciples often go on expeditions, and few return. After you debut, you will join the Demon Bureau and become a ‘Vice Captain’ of the eighth rank!”

Danyunzi brought Xu Changqing into a secluded meditation room to begin passing on the techniques to him.

“Master, why do we need to cooperate with the officialdom?” Xu Changqing asked during the opportunity.

“On one hand, we need to pay respect to the Imperial Court, and on the other hand, it’s for acquiring corresponding resources…” Danyunzi answered with a smile.

In reality, the latter reason was the main one. Otherwise, why would a cultivator like her have any interest in the mundane Imperial Court?

“You have already built up your foundation and entered the path of cultivation, saving much effort. Very good, very good!”Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Danyunzi continued: “The legends say that before the Great Catastrophe of the ancient times, there were five paths to immortality—That of Heaven, Earth, Man, God, and Ghost. However, after the Great Catastrophe, the paths perished, leaving only the path of the Ghost immortal. Will you learn it?”

“I am willing.”

Xu Changqing rolled his eyes inwardly, there was clearly no choice.

“The so-called ‘Ghost Immortal’ is actually ‘Weird Immortal’, which can be divided into ‘Feather Transforming’ and ‘Corpse Dissecting’… ”

Danyunzi explained in detail: “Feather Transformers cultivate the gate of mystery, which is enduring and persistent. Eventually reaching the state of ‘Grain Spirit Never Dies’!”

“Corpse Dissectors dissect their soul from their body, wandering aimlessly like an unborn child, transforming from a chrysalis into a butterfly, and ultimately becoming an immortal!”

“All the cultivation methods in the world are like this, with only minor differences. Which one do you want to learn?”

…

“Grandfather…”

Xu Changqing was somewhat confused, and immediately summoned Su Lu for help.

“This means there are two cultivation methods. One is called ‘Feather Transforming Immortal’, which mainly cultivates the physical body. The other is ‘Corpse Dissecting Immortal’, which mainly cultivates the soul. In the later stages, it requires the abandonment of the original body, repeated restructuring to gain immortality. The two paths lead to the same destination; both create the same kind of Immortal.”

Su Lu laughed: “Interesting, really interesting…”

“‘Corpse Dissecting Immortal’, that’s the one who annihilated my Xiaozhai Village, wasn’t it?” A wave of hatred surged in Xu Changqing’s heart.

“Indeed, but if you choose the ‘Corpse Dissecting Immortal’ path, I have a higher-level practitioner’s understanding and experiences of this path, including the Corpse Dissecting rituals, precautions, and so on…”

This was obtained from the ‘Corpse Dissecting Immortal’ they had previously encountered. To any lower-level cultivator, it would be a prized ‘secret manual’.

“Grandfather, don’t worry. I won’t reject the cultivation of Corpse Dissecting Immortal. However…”

Xu Changqing muttered something in his heart, then asked Danyunzi: “I do not know which Immortal Method our sect excels in? What about Master?”

“Our sect’s ‘Becoming butterfly’, ‘Last Note’ depict the methods of the Corpse Dissecting Immortal, while our ‘Ascent Sutra’ explores the profundities of ‘Feather Transforming’… However, in this generation, both the Sect Master and I are practicing the ‘Ascent Sutra’.”

Danyunzi replied.

“Then I wish to follow the path of the ‘Feather Transforming Immortal’. Xu Changqing bowed in respect, petitioning her.

Having a ready-made teacher was always a better option than groping around in the dark.

“Good, I will pass on to you the ‘Ascent Sutra’ script!”

Danyunzi handed over an ancient scripture to Xu Changqing: “You should go and study the pill-formation techniques thoroughly. If there are any areas you do not understand, come and ask me. Strive to debut as soon as possible.”

“I will take my leave.”

Xu Changqing bowed once more, respectfully exiting.

Watching his departing figure, Danyunzi suddenly revealed an innocent smile: “This is great… Cultivating him will suffice for the tasks of the next decade, sparing Hongying from having to toil away at the Demon Bureau. I just hope that this child possesses enough talent to smoothly overcome the challenges presented by the initiation into the path of immortal cultivation…”

To Danyunzi, Xu Changqing was just a serf who had conveniently appeared, while Hongying was the true heir and successor of her bloodline.

On this matter, Danyunzi was strict in separating public from private matters.

…

“The ‘Ascent Sutra’?”

As disciples of the Heixuan sect were scarce, Xu Changqing enjoyed the solitude of a small building to himself.

Sitting cross-legged in his meditation room, with the classic scripture in front of him, he asked: “Grandfather… What do you think?”

“Indeed, it is a cultivation method…”

After studying for a while, Su Lu answered: “According to the description here, the focus of your next stage of training is ‘alchemy,’ not the inhalation and exhalation of nature’s spiritual energy. Instead, it involves capturing Weird Creatures and refining them into elixirs for consumption. Once you have collected enough of these, a ‘Weird Elixir’ will form in your body, and the cultivation of the ‘Feather Transforming Immortal’ can progress to the next state.”

“Alchemy? Isn’t that just eating Weird Creatures?”

Xu Changqing’s eyes widened.

“It’s pretty much the same concept, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be ‘Weird Creatures’. If you’re strong enough, ‘Strange Creatures’ can also serve your purpose… as can the bloodlines of some powerful organisms, which can be transplanted into you.”

Su Lu sighed to himself quietly.

He had originally thought that only ‘Corpse Dissecting Immortal’ loses their human form during the latter stages, but it turns out the ‘Feather Transforming Immortal’ shares the same fate.

The difference lies in the fact that the Feather Transforming Immortal transforms their original body, while the Corpse Dissecting Immortal creates an entirely new body and moves their soul into it during the latter stages!

“So, this set of techniques requires a vast amount of resources from Weird Creatures…”

Su Lu added: “You are just a new disciple, it’s impossible for you to gain many resource provisions, so solitary cultivation is not an option. Instead, you’ll have to go down to the Demon Bureau to look for opportunities, which I presume is your master’s intention as well.”

“For everything in the world, there is give and take, no free lunches. I have understood this principle a long time ago.”

Xu Changqing asked again: “Grandfather, what about you?”

“Hmm… After a little more time, once I’ve watched everything that’s on this mountain, you can go down. There won’t be any need to come back after that, there’s no need to worry about cultivation techniques and such.”

Now that the foundations are in place, Su Lu can perfectly deduce a ‘genuine’ strength system from the locale, leaving not a trace of flaw.