Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 104 The Heavenly Book Secret Techniques of the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect

Unable to contain his curiosity, Chen Ye couldn't help but ask, "What exactly is this Heavenly Book Secret Technique? Is it truly a treasure left behind by the creator?"

The Crimson Serpent narrowed its eyes and sneered, "Now that you have obtained a secret technique from the Heavenly Book, you must have your own thoughts. Why don't you tell me?"

Chen Ye shook his head and said, "I am but a lowly cultivator who has no influence. If I were to utter such wild thoughts, I would only make a fool of myself."

"Playing dumb, you do indeed have the potential to become a demon. You relied on this secret technique to break into the Incense Burning Sect, and your underlings of Yin spirits were invincible. You're telling me you didn't know? It's precisely because you knew the power of the Heavenly Book Secret Technique that you had the confidence to capture Wei Changsheng."

Hearing what the Crimson Serpent said, Chen Ye pondered for a moment and asked, "According to what you've said, is this Heavenly Book Secret Technique only known for its power?"

The Crimson Serpent shook its head and said, "No, no. If this secret technique falls into the hands of an ordinary person, it will be difficult to show its true power. You yourself have used this secret technique before, and it should be far less powerful than when those Yin spirits used it. This secret technique seems to have been created specifically for Yin spirits, and is designed for them to learn and use. That is why your Myriad Soul Banner is so powerful, and even the disciples of the Incense Burning Sect were suppressed by you for a moment."

Chen Ye, struck by the touch of the Crimson Serpent, immediately realized what was happening and pressed for an answer: "According to your understanding, these Heavenly Book Secret Techniques are all tailor-made for specific races or individuals, and once they encounter a suitable technique, they can unleash even greater power?"

The Crimson Serpent nodded and said, "That's right. That's why some people speculate that this world was created by humans. When all things in the world were first created, the corresponding Heavenly Books and Secret Techniques came into being. If one could gather all the Heavenly Books and Secret Techniques in the world, one could control the fundamental techniques that are closely connected to all things, and then there would be a chance of ruling over all things in the world."

This is truly an ancient secret, and this speculation makes sense.

Chen Ye had never heard of such ancient secrets before, and upon closer examination, his speculation was quite reasonable.

Looking back to the beginning, when all things were born, the first Yin spirit had probably not yet appeared in the world, but the secret arts of the soul had already been created.

In this light, it seems that the creator of the world was able to foresee the future, and was fully aware of the emergence of the spirits and the evolution of all things, as if he had personally experienced the evolution of heaven and earth and already knew how the future would unfold.

Chen Ye couldn't help but wonder why the first half of the Heavenly Book Secret Techniques was mostly incomplete.
Whether it's the Book of Changes, the Ksitigarbha Sutra, or many other Buddhist classics, they are all passed down in fragments. Monk Fangyuan didn't even know that the Heart Sutra had a second half.

Was it intentional on the part of the creator, or were these heavenly books already incomplete when he found them elsewhere?
Chen Ye couldn't think of a reasonable explanation for a moment.

However, this conversation really opened his eyes; it seems that the giant snake entering his dream wasn't all bad.

However, people in the demonic path often do business without any capital; I've never heard of anyone willing to do a losing business. This Crimson Serpent has revealed so many ancient secrets; I wonder what price Chen Ye will have to pay.

The Crimson Serpent seemed to read Chen Ye's mind and laughed, "What, do you want to hear more? Do you dare to continue listening?"

Chen Ye laughed and said, "To not even dare to be bold in one's dreams would be too cowardly. If you have any other interesting stories, please tell me them all."

"Alright! Then I will continue telling the story of the Crimson Serpent Holy Sect. Back then, the Crimson Serpent Demon Lord obtained a secret technique from a celestial book by chance. After painstakingly studying and improving it, he founded the Crimson Serpent Holy Sect with it. In just a few years, the Crimson Serpent Holy Sect became famous, and the Crimson Serpent Demon Lord also became a well-known figure. However, it was precisely this secret technique from the celestial book that attracted the covetous eyes of the Incense Burning Sect."

"As I mentioned before, Demon Lord Wujiu secretly attacked and severely injured Demon Lord Chilian. Subsequently, the five major sects joined forces to besiege the Chilian Holy Sect. The other demon lords all stood by and watched. Demon Lord Chilian was isolated and helpless, and ultimately died with resentment. The secret technique of the Heavenly Book also fell into the hands of the Incense Burning Sect."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye couldn't help but ask in confusion, "If what you say is true, senior, why would Demon Lord Wujiu help the five major sects scheme against their own comrades? He himself was eventually suppressed in Green Coffin Mountain for a thousand years. This kind of thing, which harms others without benefiting himself, is not the style of a demon."

"Hehe, you'll have to find out the reasons for yourself. I'll just tell you about the past of the Crimson Serpent Sect."

"Senior, you must not know the reason either," Chen Ye asked tentatively.

The Crimson Serpent sneered, "Your provocation won't work on an old demon like me."

Chen Ye smiled and said, "In that case, senior, why don't you explain the secret techniques of the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect in detail?"

It was just a joke, but the Crimson Serpent unexpectedly said, "You want to learn? I'll teach you!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye thought he was dreaming. No, this was definitely a dream. He never expected the Crimson Serpent to actually say such a thing—that it would teach him if he wanted to? There must be some conspiracy involved.

Seeing Chen Ye's astonished expression, the Crimson Serpent burst into wild laughter and said mockingly to Chen Ye, "You usually act decisively, even daring to break into the Burning Incense Sect's headquarters. Why are you so hesitant now? Are you afraid that I'm giving you a fake secret technique, or are you worried that I'm plotting against you in secret?"

I just said that provocation wouldn't work, but I didn't expect this old devil to use it on me.

Chen Ye smiled wryly. Sure enough, the little devil was no match for the old devil.

However, as Chen Ye said before, this is just a dream. If you don't even have the courage to dream, then you're too pathetic.

Regardless of what schemes the Crimson Serpent might have, with the Heavenly Book and its secret techniques right before us, we might as well learn them.

Chen Ye then clasped his hands in a fist salute to the Crimson Serpent and said, "Please teach me, senior."

"Hahaha, cursing the old devil in your heart while calling him a senior, you truly are a member of the demonic path. But don't worry, I will not only teach you this secret technique of the Heavenly Book, but also the method of improvement."

The giant red serpent chanted: "With pure wisdom, extinguish all darkness of ignorance, quell greed and attachment, subdue the poisonous snake of anger, sever all wrong views, and destroy the mountain of pride..."

Chen Ye held his breath and listened intently.

He could tell from the very beginning that this was no fabrication. It was a passage from the *Sutra of the Collection of the True Practices of Fugai*, a legitimate Buddhist text. But just like the *Ksitigarbha Sutra*, which started as orthodox scripture, it later became a secret practice.

Chen Ye pricked up his ears, afraid of missing a single word. After hearing most of it, he understood the general purpose of this heavenly book and secret technique.

This is a secret technique that teaches people to transform the five poisons of greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt into five venomous snakes. Once these five venomous snakes are subdued, one can attain liberation and great bliss.

Just hearing about this secret technique makes it seem extremely difficult; an ordinary person might not be able to master it even after a lifetime.

Greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt are the poisons of human nature. No one can truly subdue these five poisons; even a Bodhisattva cannot.

The Crimson Serpent didn't care what Chen Ye thought, and kept chanting without stopping. It also recited the secret techniques created by the Crimson Serpent Demon Lord based on the "Collection of the Scripture of the Righteous Conduct of the Blessed One," regardless of how much Chen Ye could understand.

Chen Ye had to stay alert and memorize as much as he could.

The Crimson Serpent Demon Lord probably knew that he couldn't eradicate all five poisons, so he took a different approach. He carefully cultivated a mutated Bodhi tree using the methods of the five poisons, and then fed the poisonous snakes with the poisonous fruits that grew on the tree. In the end, he successfully cultivated the terrifying Crimson Serpent.

Over the years that followed, successive generations of the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect continuously researched and improved the secret methods for cultivating exotic beasts. After repeated refinement, they compiled these methods into a book called the "Blood Bodhi Sutra." The sutra details the methods for cultivating this mutated Bodhi, as well as the miraculous techniques for feeding spirit pets with other rare and precious materials to promote their evolution.

After hearing the gist of the story, Chen Ye finally understood why the venom of the Crimson Serpent could absorb the resentment of those poisoned and condense it into the Crimson Serpent Buddha. Ultimately, the secret techniques of the Crimson Serpent Demonic Sect originated from Buddhist scriptures; this was simply a return to its roots.

However, the fact that the Crimson Serpent Demon Lord could transform the technique of subduing the five poisons into a technique of cultivating spirit beasts is truly admirable. One cannot become a Demon Lord simply by being cruel and bloodthirsty. Every cultivator who reaches the peak is a person of extraordinary talent.

The Crimson Serpent slowly and deliberately finished explaining the secret technique. After Chen Ye pondered it for a moment, it slowly spoke: "I see that you are quite interested in the methods of the Demonic Sect, so I will teach you the most basic things as well. Have you heard of the Blood Pill method of the Demonic Sect? This Blood Pill is an indispensable item for cultivating the Blood Bodhi Scripture. If you don't understand this, you will have learned this secret technique in vain."

Chen Ye frowned immediately. The Crimson Serpent had been talking for a long time, but now its tone was slightly excited, as if its conspiracy was about to succeed.

Could this crimson serpent be tempting me to fall into the demonic path?

(End of this chapter)