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

Chapter 92 The Method of Attaining Buddhahood Through Incense Offerings
Chen Ye has never been a teacher, nor has he ever had children.

His only teaching experience was tutoring his deskmate on a few test questions.

To be honest, I thought it would be very difficult to guide others in their cultivation, especially since most of the spirits like Yang Chongguang were illiterate.

Cultivation also requires culture. Even though Chen Ye often betrayed his master and ancestors, Mo Ci was still a scholar, which is why he could understand cultivation techniques. Otherwise, it would be difficult to even get started.

Therefore, Chen Ye was prepared for the possibility that his efforts would be in vain and that no matter how he taught, the student would not learn.

He also reminded himself that he must be patient and meticulous, and teach patiently and step by step without getting tired of it.

But Chen Ye did not expect that the secret techniques in the Ksitigarbha Sutra seemed to be tailor-made for vengeful spirits. Yang Chongguang learned them very quickly and mastered them.

They couldn't even understand Chen Ye's explanation; they simply used their spiritual energy to draw the runes of the four secret techniques of restraint, interrogation, and torture, as Chen Ye had taught them.

Knowing what it is but not why it is, just like when Mo Ci was practicing his cultivation.

But that was enough. Yang Chongguang had mastered the "Restriction" technique after only a few tries, and now he had a gloomy token in his hand.

Simply by shining this token at a person from a distance, one can pull their soul towards it.

After experiencing the power of the token, Chen Ye felt dizzy and lightheaded, as if his soul was about to leave his body. He had to concentrate fully to resist in order to stay afloat.

If Yang Chongguang had mastered it, that would be fine. Every single one of the Yin spirits in the Ten Thousand Soul Banner could learn these four secret techniques with ease.

This is definitely not a matter of talent, but rather because these four secret techniques were originally designed for spirits, which is why they were able to learn them so quickly.

Chen Ye simply divided them into teams according to the preferences of these spirits and the four secret techniques of restraint, interrogation, and torture.

I've learned it, but how to apply it is the problem.

Chen Ye was too embarrassed to make the Qinghe Sword Sect's territory feel eerie, so he took advantage of the night to come to a waterfall and let the ghosts practice in pairs.

With a wave of the Myriad Souls Banner, dozens of ghostly spirits of various shapes flew out, divided into several groups according to Chen Ye's command, and then began to fight fiercely.

As if they had been holding back for too long, the ghosts treated this battle as their most exciting gathering, each one holding nothing back, determined to beat their opponents until they cried.

Many of the ghosts were actually beaten to tears.

Especially the "Punishment" technique, the Yin spirit weapons transformed by this secret technique are all different, such as hooks, long whips, iron trees, oil pots, etc. It seems that each Yin spirit has its own understanding of "punishment", but no matter what it looks like, it is torture when used on the soul.

Unless one can be like Chen Ye, never doing anything wrong in their life, then even if boiling oil is poured on them, it will only burn their face.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the spirits in the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls are all victims; there are very few who have never done anything wrong.

Even Yang Chongguang cried out in pain after being hit a few times. He said that when he went to war, he killed prisoners, plotted against his superiors, and hoarded gold and silver. In this era, it was considered morally noble for soldiers not to slaughter the old, weak, women and children.

Even so, Yang Chongguang dared not be careless when sparring with other spirits, for writhing on the ground in pain would damage his dignity as the main spirit.

Seeing how enthusiastic they were, Chen Ye didn't try to stop them.

In any case, the four secret techniques of restraint, interrogation, and torture are all very special; they only cause pain without causing injury.

However, I must remind you not to shout too loudly; making ghostly noises in the middle of the night can easily attract trouble.

Although the Ten Thousand Souls Banner was produced by the Qinghe Sword Sect and has been completely whitewashed, it is still not appropriate to display it so ostentatiously.

While the training was in full swing, Chen Ye also took the opportunity to study the Qinghe Sword Sect's improved version of the Divine Soul Secret Technique, hoping to help Mo Ci recover from her injuries.

It must be said that the powerful sects are indeed formidable. They modified the secret technique of restraint, allowing the shattered soul to be reunited, which can be considered a rebirth in another sense.

However, this fusion is not about gluing the porcelain fragments back together piece by piece, let alone gluing them together seamlessly. The Qinghe Sword Sect's method is to fuse them into one and recreate a new divine soul.

The reason why cursed spirits lose their memories and revert to being newborn babies is because this kind of restoration doesn't take into account the original appearance; it's like directly creating a new one from the original materials.

After learning the principle, Chen Ye dared not test it on Mo Ci.

If all past memories were to disappear, then Mo Ci would be no different from being completely obliterated.

Chen Ye could only extract the essence from the research of the Qinghe Sword Sect and then modify the Myriad Soul Banner.

With a casual wave of his hand, spiritual energy gathered around it, wetting the long banner like a light rain.

"Master, how are you feeling?"

Chen Ye transformed the spiritual energy into sweet dew to nourish the soul, feeling that it should be somewhat useful.

But Mo Ci said, "It's better than nothing. My soul is already exhausted, but with the protection of this Ten Thousand Souls Banner, it's dissipating a little slower. It's like a pot that leaks everywhere; no matter how much water you put in it, it will never be full."

Chen Ye sighed. In the end, it was only a temporary solution and not a permanent cure. It seemed that he would have to think of another way.

Unfortunately, I haven't heard of any sect that has done special research on the soul, nor have I heard of any demon lord who knows the secret techniques to repair the soul. However, there is some talk about it in the Buddhist sect.

Chen Ye obtained many relevant books from the monk Fangyuan, including records on how to "create Buddha".

In this world, Buddhist scriptures are incomplete, and there are no Buddhas such as Tathagata or Guanyin. The Nirvana School was the earliest Buddhist school; they created a Buddha through the power of sentient beings' vows, without any other name, simply calling him Buddha.

Disciples of the Nirvana School can draw upon the Buddha's power to unleash various incredible supernatural abilities, one of which is the "open mouth meditation."

In addition to the wishes of sentient beings, creating a Buddha also requires a vessel.

The Nirvana Sect uses their first sect leader, who suffered severe damage to his soul after failing to break through to the next level. He risked condensing himself into a Buddha, and succeeded, thus becoming the Buddha we know today.

Although the Nirvana Sect is a demonic sect, its leaders throughout history have actually been quite ordinary in ability. They only earned the title of Demon Lord when they borrowed the power of the Buddha.

The same applies to the Buddha at Cixin Temple; a monk from the Nirvana School defected from the sect.

Because he was persecuted by the Nirvana Sect, which caused him physical and mental trauma, he suddenly had an epiphany on his deathbed and became a Buddha with a heart of compassion, becoming the Buddha of Cixin Temple.

Whether it's the Nirvana Sect or the Cixin Temple, these two Buddhas are completely different from what Chen Ye knew.

He doesn't possess any extraordinary ability to see through the three thousand worlds; he's more like a "god" nourished by the power of incense offerings and vows. Although the path to godhood through incense offerings isn't explicitly recorded in the classics, Chen Ye deduced the truth with a little reasoning.

"The power of the wishes of all beings can repair your soul and make you a god. However, this is probably very troublesome, and once you become a god through incense offerings, you will be bound by the power of wishes and will not be as free as when you cultivate immortality."

The Buddha of the Nirvana school is required to unconditionally respond to the "requests" of his disciples, because he relied on this power when he attained Buddhahood, like a fundamental contract that locks in this immense power.

If this is violated, the Buddha statue will collapse.

The same applies to Cixin Temple. With compassion in their hearts and pity for all living beings, this is the Buddha of Cixin Temple. Therefore, their disciples need to travel around to help all people.

Once a contract is made, it cannot be reneged on. If one destroys their own foundation, then there will be no redemption.

Upon hearing this, Mo Ci said nonchalantly, "It's better to live a wretched life than to die a good death. As long as I can live, that's enough. What else am I complaining about? But do you really have a way? Sometimes I forget that you just condensed your Qi Sea. How come you're already thinking about helping me become a Buddha?"

Mo Ci and Chen Ye had only known each other for a few months. Before that, Chen Ye was just an ordinary little devil who had just started cultivating.

But ever since he got on the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, this kid has been hanging out with high-ranking sects like the Qinghe Sword Sect and the Incense Burning Sect. Only a few days have passed, and he's already thinking about making his master a Buddha.
The key point is that he seemed to be serious, not joking.

Then haven't I wasted all these hundreds of years?
"Fine, do whatever you want. I don't understand it. I'm going to rest now."

Mo Ci sank into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and said no more.

Chen Ye then had to figure it out himself. There are three key points to the path of incense becoming a god. One is that it must be something that can contain the wishes of all living beings, just like a person's soul.

The second is how to gather the wishes of all beings, which requires effort and a bit of luck.

The third and most difficult part is how to bind these vows with a contract. This requires Mo Ci's complete willingness and cannot be accompanied by the slightest hesitation. If you have any doubts, cannot accept these vows, or have even the slightest bit of wishful thinking, then all your efforts will be in vain.

Chen Ye can figure out the first two points, but the third point is up to his master.

Amidst the wailing and howling, Chen Ye pondered how to save the people when he suddenly sensed someone approaching.

Chen Ye naturally wouldn't relax too much while cultivating here. The warning formation had been prepared long ago and would be triggered if anyone approached.

The Banner of Ten Thousand Souls collected the vengeful spirit, and Chen Ye looked warily to the north.

Several beams of light flew from the horizon and landed in front of Chen Ye. The one in the lead was someone Chen Ye recognized: Wei Changsheng of the Incense Burning Sect.

Chen Ye sensed something was wrong when he saw Wei Changsheng's smug look. Sure enough, the man said, "Chen Ye, your collusion with the demon has been exposed. Surrender now!"

…………

On a distant, solitary peak, the Venerable One was using a miraculous technique to make Chen Ye appear as if he were right in front of him.

Seeing Chen Ye surrender without resistance, a disciple of the Demonic Sect couldn't help but mock him, "What a piece of trash. I thought we could fight."

The Venerable One shook his head and said, "He doesn't need to make a move. After all, the Qinghe Sword Sect is backing him up, and the Fenxiang Sect wouldn't dare to do anything to him. If he were to hurt someone, it would only give others something to criticize him for."

"Relying on the power of the Qinghe Sword Sect is nothing special. Why does the Venerable One care about this person?"

"He might make us lose this bet."

Upon hearing this, all the disciples of the Demonic Sect were startled. He was merely a minor cultivator at the Qi Sea Realm. After the Venerable One condensed the Crimson Serpent Buddha, he had already reached the Returning Void Realm. Moreover, because of the power of this Serpent Buddha, he could even contend with cultivators at the Dao Integration Realm.

How could someone with such immense power be defeated by this person?

The Venerable Lord sighed, "In the end, you still only measure strength by cultivation level. If that's how you think, we should have slit our own throats long ago. If we're talking about cultivation and strength, who can compare to that old bastard Zhang Qi?"

Another disciple couldn't help but ask, "Then why didn't the Venerable One just kill him?"

Seeing that everyone around him shared the same doubts, the Lord could only sigh.

Not only are the righteous disciples a bunch of incompetent fools, but the demonic sect is the same; they don't even have anyone who can see the situation clearly.

The lord said helplessly, "If we kill him, we will all die together."

(End of this chapter)