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

Chapter 74 Rebuilding the Qi Sea
The moon was high in the sky, and the moon over Baihai Valley seemed to be formed by an array, appearing round and large even though it wasn't Mid-Autumn Festival.

Mo Suixin returned to the Burning Incense Sect's headquarters under the moonlight.

In the chaotic Hundred Seas Valley, all the major sects have sent disciples to guard it, intending to jointly supervise this gathering place of rogue cultivators.

Wei Changsheng had been waiting in front of the camp for a long time. When he saw Mo Suixin returning from afar, a cold smile flashed across his face. He said in a sarcastic tone, "Junior Sister Mo is really in high spirits. She was drinking and having fun with that person until midnight before returning."

Mo Suixin remained calm, as if she hadn't heard anything. She merely glanced at Wei Changsheng before raising her hand and tossing the Xuan Jade Dragon Pattern Pendant over.

Wei Changsheng hurriedly reached out his hands to catch it, afraid that the treasure would be dropped or damaged, and the imposing manner he had just used to question it vanished.

Mo Suixin found it laughable.

He is so outwardly fierce but inwardly weak, more trouble than he's worth, how could he possibly be valued by the head of the Changsheng Hall?

Mo Suixin shook her head. She had never thought Wei Changsheng was such a bad person before, probably because she had never seen him suffer setbacks.

That's just how people are.

When things are going smoothly, they always appear extraordinary, as if everything is under their control, and their every move exudes composure. Only when they face adversity do they reveal their many weaknesses.

Wei Changsheng was like this, and so was I.

If it weren't for Chen Ye, Mo Suixin would never have imagined that she would repeatedly lose her composure.

Despite being just a novice rogue cultivator, he was far more outstanding than the disciples of prestigious sects.

Mo Suixin looked at Wei Changsheng, who was holding the jade pendant, and sighed, "Senior Brother Wei, we should both take this as a warning."

Wei Changsheng frowned and said, "What right do you have to criticize me? Do you know what you've done? You've actually been hanging out with that kid. Do you even know what propriety and shame are?"

Mo Suixin shook her head. It seems that not everyone knows how to reflect on themselves.

She was too lazy to waste any more words with Wei Changsheng, so she turned around and walked into the room.

Unexpectedly, Wei Changsheng persisted, blocking Mo Suixin's path and saying, "Wait, are you just going to leave like this? I invited you here to obtain the Heavenly Book Secret Technique from that rogue cultivator, but you disregarded your sect's trust and colluded with him. Don't you have anything to explain?"

"An explanation?" Mo Suixin said nonchalantly, "Let's not even talk about why your Changsheng Hall has the right to interfere in the affairs of my Qixing Hall. Even in terms of status, I am the chief of Qixing Hall, Senior Brother Wei. What status do you have that you have to ask me to explain to you?"

Wei Changsheng was speechless.

Although the Incense Burning Sect has relaxed many of its rules in recent years, the distinction between superiors and inferiors has become increasingly strict.

The chief of a hall is second only to the hall master, who is only below the sect leader.

Therefore, Mo Suixin is the mainstay of the Burning Incense Sect, and Wei Changsheng is indeed far inferior to her.

Seeing that Mo Suixin was using her status to intimidate others, Wei Changsheng dared not argue with her anymore. He secretly vowed to report what happened today back to his sect and make Mo Suixin taste the bitterness of being disgraced.

At the other end of the valley, in a corner where the moonlight wasn't so beautiful.

Chen Ye has returned to his cave and is sorting out what he has gained today.

Although he handed over the Xuan Yu Dragon Pattern Pendant and the Heavenly Book Secret Technique, Chen Ye did not feel that he had made a bad deal.

No matter how much he despised those hypocritical social niceties in his past life, Chen Ye still knew very well that such social interactions were indispensable.

Now that he seems to have given away the benefits he had already secured, with Mo Suixin as a friend, Chen Ye's relationship with the behemoth that is the Burning Incense Sect is more than just enmity. Even if Wei Changsheng brings in his sect elders, Mo Suixin will likely mediate.

Without that pressure, Chen Ye felt lighter even when walking.

Not only that, Mo Suixin also promised to teach him divination techniques. It might not involve the secrets of the Incense Burning Sect, but having such a teacher to guide him was more precious than any magic weapon.

Thinking of this, Chen Ye's hands started itching again.

Even though Mo Suixin said that he was currently lacking in spiritual energy and could not sustain a divination, he still felt restless and eager to use what he had learned.

After walking around the cave a few times, Chen Ye simply buried himself in the pile of papers again.

Since the spiritual energy is insufficient, you should quickly improve your cultivation level. Once your Qi Sea is full, you might be able to start divination.

I spent a long time researching yesterday and actually figured out a general method of cultivation. I will use the Six-Syllable Mantra as the core, shatter and reassemble the Qi Sea, and then refer to the notes of predecessors to try to maintain multiple Qi Seas coexisting to see if there will be any differences.

Now all that's left is to try.

Chen Ye first rearranged the array outside the cave, then placed the pills and other items within easy reach. After repeatedly confirming that he was ready, he was about to close his eyes and begin his meditation when he suddenly opened his eyes again.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Ye took out the indestructible copy of the Ksitigarbha Sutra. He had previously given away handwritten copies, but he had kept the true sutra close to his body.

Now Chen Ye also keeps the Ksitigarbha Sutra with him, not for any particular purpose, but because he feels more at ease having all his treasures by his side.

Just like in his past life, Chen Ye always needed to prepare three pens for exams to feel at ease. It didn't matter if he didn't need them, but if he didn't have enough, Chen Ye would feel uncertain.

It's a pity that the Ten Thousand Souls Banner is missing; otherwise, Master could help protect the Dharma, making cultivation more peaceful.

"Forget it, the past can't be changed, let's seize the present."

Chen Ye focused his mind and quickly cleared his mind of distractions, beginning to practice the Six-Syllable Mantra.

"Om, ma, ni, ba, mi, hum..."

The sound of mantras echoed in the cave, causing dust to fall from the ceiling.

Buddhist practice is mostly inseparable from the mouth, such as the six-syllable mantra, the open-mouthed Zen I've seen before, the scriptures they recite in their daily practice, and their daily debates with others. In short, they cannot keep their mouths shut.

This is quite different from the Taoist tradition, which Chen Ye found difficult to adapt to.

When Chen Ye first began his cultivation, Mo Ci taught him mostly about "stillness".

The mind must be still, as still as stagnant water. Only when the mind is as still as stagnant water can it be rippled by the slightest touch of an external object, and that external object is spiritual energy.

When awakening the spirit, one should meditate. The faster one calms the mind, the more one can sense the presence of the spiritual energy.

When gathering Qi in the dantian, one must remain calm, waiting for the medicinal effects to take hold and for the dantian to form within the body.

If you get distracted by other things during this time, it's easy to make a mistake.

But now Chen Ye has to recite the six-syllable mantra himself. Not only that, he also has to use a unique method to circulate his spiritual energy so that each syllable resonates with his dantian (energy center) and encourages his dantian to absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth more quickly.

At first, the effect was quite good; Chen Ye felt that the rotation speed of his Qi Sea was ten times faster.

No wonder cultivators from prestigious sects have a great advantage. Without the aid of secret techniques, those in the Qi Sea Realm can exhaust all their lifespan and die of old age without ever breaking through to the next realm.

However, practicing this six-syllable mantra is not easy. If he recites it even slightly incorrectly, his dantian will shake, causing him extreme discomfort several times and almost resulting in injury.

Chen Ye was really not used to the feeling of having to open his mouth and speak during cultivation.

Several attempts failed because the pronunciation and the flow of spiritual energy were not coordinated, causing the dantian (energy center) to vibrate.

However, this is exactly what Chen Ye wants.

Ignoring the backlash from the mantra, he continued to cultivate relentlessly until his Qi Sea began to vibrate and turn into nothingness.

"Om, ma, ni, ba, mi, hum..."

The same six-syllable mantra, but the tone is different.

This is the crucial moment. The backlash from the mantra will damage the Qi Sea and cause a regression in cultivation. Therefore, the Six-Syllable Mantra originally contained a remedy to repair the damaged Qi Sea.

Normally, one should repair the damage as soon as they feel the shock, but Chen Ye only started using the repair method after his Qi Sea was completely shattered.

At the same time, use your mind to control and repair the Qi Sea in various parts of the Dantian simultaneously.

A tiny vortex reappeared, much weaker than before, but then a second, a third... different locations, different directions, different sizes, but a total of eighteen vortices appeared simultaneously in Chen Ye's dantian, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth together.

In an instant, a sudden gust of wind caused the candlelight to flicker.

Chen Ye was oblivious, focusing solely on maintaining the operation of the eighteen Qi Seas.

(End of this chapter)