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

Chapter 105 The So-Called Open Strategy

The Crimson Serpent couldn't guess what Chen Ye was thinking, but it was indeed tempting Chen Ye to become a demon.

People often wonder why they would abandon the proper and righteous path of cultivation and instead choose the evil path of practicing martial arts by killing.

The reasons behind this are clear to everyone. The righteous path is time-consuming and resource-intensive.

Ordinary cultivators can't even find the Xuanji Dew, and it takes them a lifetime to progress from the Qi Awakening stage to the Qi Sea stage. Without secret techniques, it would be even more difficult to reach the Qi Sea stage or the Gang Sha stage in a lifetime.

It's as if the four characters "wealth, companions, law, and land" are already written between each realm, like four great mountains. You must move at least one of them to reach the other shore.

But moving mountains is no easy task.
So why did he become a demon? Simply because eating people is easy.

Xuanji Lu is hard to find, but isn't the person hard to find?
Kill two or three thousand people, refine them into blood pills, and the task can be completed in ten days to half a month, or as quickly as a few days.

Compared to visiting famous mountains and rivers and digging for stalactites in deep mountains for years or even decades, what would an ordinary person choose?

At first, perhaps some people can uphold their principles and never harm others. But when their lifespan is about to end, and the great terror of life and death strikes, how many people can still maintain their principles?
Falling into evil can often happen in the blink of an eye.

Once you kill someone for the first time to practice your skills, there's no turning back, and most people can never go back.

The Crimson Serpent had long coveted Chen Ye's talent and was determined to recruit him. However, it knew that Chen Ye was currently enjoying great success and had a close relationship with the Qinghe Sword Sect. With this powerful sect providing shelter, the Crimson Serpent Sect wouldn't even have a proper gate. How could it possibly persuade Chen Ye to join willingly?
The Lord did not want a mindless puppet; he wanted Chen Ye's intelligence and talent, so he could only tempt himself to fall into the demonic path.

The previous secret technique was just a hook. This thing has already been snatched away by the Incense Burning Sect. If it's not unique, it can't be called a secret technique; it can only be called a spell.

The Blood Bodhi Sutra, even when placed before Chen Ye, was not tempting enough for him.

However, if Chen Ye were told about the various blood refining methods of the Demonic Sect, he would surely find one that he could use.

Once he's tasted the sweetness of taking shortcuts, there's no turning back; he'll only ever become a little devil.

The Lord felt that his method was very useful. When Chen Ye heard about the blood refining techniques, his expression changed constantly, and he knew that Chen Ye was interested.

No one could resist the temptation, especially since Chen Ye was a rogue cultivator.

This is the Lord's open scheme. Once he starts killing people to refine blood pills, it will be just around the corner for him to join the Crimson Serpent Holy Sect.

Chen Ye listened to these basic methods of the demonic sect with mixed feelings: killing people to make pills, skinning people for clothing, and turning corpses into zombies.

It was as if they had returned to the time when he first became a disciple, when Mo Ci had also spoken eloquently for a long time, just like the Crimson Serpent now.

However, upon closer comparison, the Crimson Serpent's explanation was far more detailed, and its level of expertise far surpassed that of Mo Ci.

There are many different methods for refining blood pills, such as how to improve the quality of blood pills and how to consume less material. This really made Chen Ye feel enlightened.

If Chen Ye had encountered this Crimson Serpent back then, he wouldn't have needed to try his luck in Cui County; the wild beasts in the mountains alone would have been enough for him to condense his Qi Sea.

While you might make some breakthroughs by figuring things out on your own, overall improvement depends on a large, long-established school that collects and organizes the experience of generations of disciples to create a complete system of knowledge and skills.

Unfortunately, the demonic path was wiped out back then, and most of its related traditions were lost.

Chen Ye listened carefully and took notes diligently, which helped him fill in the gaps in his foundational knowledge.

The conversation went on for an unknown amount of time until the red-striped serpent grew tired and disappeared into the darkness, at which point Chen Ye slowly woke up.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself lying in a cave, while outside the sun was shining brightly.

Chen Ye rubbed his head. He thought he would be a little tired after studying all night, but he only felt refreshed and had no discomfort.

"Learning in a dream can be this easy. If this had existed back then, I wouldn't have chosen archaeology."

Chen Ye sighed, got out of bed, and released Black Whirlwind to go eat breakfast by himself.

The little guy squawked twice in dissatisfaction and pointed with its wings at the spot where Chen Ye was lying, as if to say, "I brought you back and even stayed up all night to watch over you."

Chen Ye had no choice but to take out the few remaining Blood Pills and feed him two, comforting him, "Bear with it for now. I'll refine more Blood Pills later and you can eat as many as you want. I have things to do today, so take care of yourself."

Black Whirlwind then rubbed against Chen Ye with satisfaction before flapping its wings and flying away.

Once the black whirlwind had flown away, Chen Ye began to get busy. His first task was to record what he had learned the previous night. A bad pen is worse than a good memory. Don't ask why cultivators always carry various secret manuals with them; it's because you really can't remember that many.

When it comes to spiritual practice, if you forget even a few details, you might develop problems.

While he could still remember, Chen Ye decided to write everything down, carefully organize it, and repeatedly scrutinize the contradictions and fallacies within. He didn't believe the Crimson Serpent was truly so kind; perhaps there was a hidden trick in this secret technique that would later become a fatal flaw.

The more carefully Chen Ye studied it, the more he felt that the original version of the "Collection of the True Scriptures of Fu Gai Zheng Xing" was even more exquisite.

If we were to make a comparison, the Blood Bodhi Sutra would be like the Postpartum Care of Sows, with its specific instructions written in a very concise and clear manner, so that even ordinary farmers could follow the instructions in the book.

The "Collection of the True Path of the Buddha" is "Insights into Primate Evolution from Genomic Analysis," which is truly incomprehensible to the average person.

It's not that the Crimson Serpent Demon Lord is incompetent; he can simplify complex matters and explain them in a simple and practical way, which is already a genius.

The more carefully Chen Ye studied it, the more unfathomable this celestial book and its secret techniques seemed.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Ye shook the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, waking up the sleeping Mo Ci.

“Master, I have a new idea about becoming a Buddha.”

Mo Ci said somewhat impatiently, "I don't understand, asking me won't help."

Chen Ye couldn't help but say, "Master, can you please pay a little more attention? This is a matter of life and death for you. You can't expect your disciple to become an immortal on the spot and help you be reborn with a single thought. You have to cooperate too."

Mo Ci cursed, "You unfilial disciple, you're becoming more and more disrespectful to your elders!"

Despite the insults, Mo Ci immediately followed up with, "So what do you want me to do?"

Chen Ye was too lazy to argue with him, so he explained, "Previously, I and the others planned to establish a new Buddha to protect and guide rogue cultivators. Naturally, we had to be fair and just. Only by absorbing this kind of aspiration could we get everyone to help. But Master, you..."

Chen Ye paused for a moment, unsure of what words to use to describe it.

How can an old demon who has possessed bodies multiple times possibly have any sense of fairness and justice?

Mo Ci, however, was self-aware and sneered, "I know in my heart that I am no good person and have nothing to do with fairness and justice. So what do you want me to do?"

Chen Ye then said, "Then you must change, Master. You need to change yourself. I have a secret technique here that will come in handy."

Chen Ye had been pondering how to reform Mo Ci, and now that he had obtained this "Collection of the Book of Righteous Conduct of the Blessed Ones," it would come in handy.

This secret technique teaches people to expel the five poisons of greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt from their bodies. Its remarkable aspect lies in the fact that it does not require practitioners to possess profound spiritual cultivation. Simply following the steps described in the book and practicing them methodically will hopefully lead to success.

Chen Ye carefully explained his research findings to Mo Ci, which greatly surprised the old devil. He hurriedly asked, "Where did you obtain this profound secret technique? It sounds like a closely guarded secret of a prestigious sect."

Chen Ye then told Mo Ci about what he had seen in his dream.

Mo Ci exclaimed in shock, "He wants you to join the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect?!"

Chen Ye laughed and said, "That's probably it. I guess that demon wanted to tempt me to fall into demonhood, but he didn't know that I was already a little demon."

Mo Ci pondered for a long time before saying to Chen Ye, "Don't be smug. None of those old devils are easy to deal with. He must have had ulterior motives for giving you this secret technique."

Chen Ye nodded and said, "I can roughly guess some of it. This demon repeatedly emphasizes that the Incense Burning Sect is collecting Heavenly Book Secret Techniques, and there is a huge conspiracy involved. If I know more about the secret techniques, the conflict with the Incense Burning Sect will be even greater."

"I've seen people try to use tigers to devour wolves before, but for this Crimson Serpent to try to use tigers to devour ants is just desperate and reckless. I'm just a small-time rogue cultivator; how can I compare to the Incense Burning Sect?"

Mo Ci asked, "Then why do you still practice this kind of secret technique?"

Chen Ye said, “Master, it is precisely because I am a rogue cultivator that I cannot let go of any opportunity. Cultivating to become an immortal is always fraught with difficulties and dangers. I have already offended the Incense Burning Sect, so what difference does a little more make? I also need your help in my cultivation. If you can become a Buddha soon, I will have someone to rely on.”

Mo Ci sighed, "I don't know if taking you as my disciple is karma or not. Alright, I'll help you out again. Tell me how to cultivate this 'True Conduct Scripture'."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye smiled and said, "To rid oneself of the five poisons, one's own willpower alone is not enough; one also needs some external assistance."

Chen Ye shook the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, summoning a group of Yin spirits, and then said to Mo Ci, "Master, it might hurt a lot in a moment, you'll have to bear it."

(End of this chapter)