Dongxuan Spiritual Realm

Chapter 30: Eternal Dragon Ointment, Ming Ye Ming An Room, Building the Foundation, Relying on Dragon Ascension

Yang Qisheng did not mention Ye Yunqiao again, and instead asked his master for the key to cultivation: "When I reach the Zhoutian realm and begin to cultivate sword energy, will I also be affected by these things? Master, please teach me how to resolve them."

Mingyi Zhenren showed a "teacherable" expression, but first picked up the bronze mirror he had just put down: "In the past, Master Jinguang killed many mountain spirits and water monsters that had cultivated for more than a hundred years, and specially selected the twelve best ones and sealed their spirits into this bronze mirror. It was originally born between heaven and earth,

"Growing up in the jungle, drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, and finally cultivating spiritual wisdom, he suffered this calamity for no reason, imprisoned in this small space, and endured the pain of soul refining. How innocent is he? We, the orthodox Xuanmen, would never use magic weapons refined by such alien spirits."

Upon hearing this, Yang Qisheng immediately said respectfully: "I was mistaken earlier. Since Master said so, I will naturally not use it. But as Master said, these monsters are indeed pitiful.
Not only were they killed innocently, but they were also imprisoned for decades, enslaved and driven by three generations of their masters and apprentices. I beg Master to help release them from the mirror and give them freedom.

Mingyi Zhenren smiled and nodded in approval: "To dispel the evil spirits of the Five Elements, such kindness and compassion are exactly what we need!"

Yang Qisheng was stunned at first, then he suddenly realized.

Master once said that cultivating the Western Metal Element's evil energy will make people become cold-blooded, cruel and bloodthirsty. In order to resolve this murderous nature, doesn't it need to be overcome with kindness?
He said happily: "Thank you for your guidance, Master! I understand!"

"Yes." Mingyi Zhenren said seriously, "Our authentic Xuanmen cultivation path emphasizes both internal and external cultivation. If you just sit in the mountains and practice with a dead heart and a dead body, that is an unorthodox practice. If you continue like this for a long time, you will definitely go astray! At the very least, you will be paralyzed on one side of your body, and at the worst, you will be transformed into a demonic corpse! So, in addition to internal cultivation, we must also walk in the world, temper our hearts in the mortal world, nourish the five hearts with the five virtues, and transform the five evils with the five hearts. Only by doing this carefully can we be safe forever!"

After explaining the reasoning in detail, Mingyi Zhenren told him, "These twelve alien spirits in the mirror were innocently killed in the past, and then imprisoned and driven by evil soul-refining methods. Their resentment has accumulated deep, and they have long since transformed into vicious spirits and demons. If they are released rashly, they will surely wreak evil on the mortal world and harm innocent people. We must first dispel their resentment, and then find suitable bodies for them to reincarnate into."

Yang Qisheng quickly asked for a solution. Immortal Mingyi pointed a finger between his eyebrows.

After coming out of the devil's realm, the little man transformed by the consciousness of Mingyi Zhenren appeared again in Yang Qisheng's mind. At this time, Mingyi Zhenren in the outside world shot out a red light from his fingertips and injected it into the little man.

"I have also added a 'Lingbao Saving People Sutra' to this divine consciousness. It records the methods for dispelling hostility and saving demons. If you can cultivate it, it will be more than enough to save these twelve demons. If you practice it according to this method in the future, you can accumulate immeasurable external merit. When the five virtues are full, the Tao will naturally rise and the demons will retreat. In the future, on the path of cultivation, you will be able to turn misfortune into fortune and turn disaster into blessing."

While the master and disciple were talking, Nanxing came in from outside the cave and bowed respectfully, saying, "Master has been in seclusion for cultivation and cannot come out to see Uncle Master off. Let me come to express my gratitude to Uncle Master and Junior Brother."

Mingyi Zhenren nodded in understanding. He had known Wutou Elder for two or three hundred years and no longer cared about these empty formalities.

This time, Old Man Wutou survived the disaster and his life span may be extended by two decades. However, his vitality was severely damaged and he needs to rest and recuperate.

"Your master has many enemies," Mingyi Zhenren instructed Nanxing. "There's no guarantee someone won't take advantage of this opportunity to seek revenge. However, the mountain is full of poisonous creatures, and with the twelve-layer poison formation set up, we don't think they'll be a threat. You and your fellow apprentices should be on high alert and guard the gates. Until your master comes out of seclusion, no one—including me—may be allowed into the mountain. No matter what anyone says, respond."

Nanxing agreed solemnly. Only then did Mingyi Zhenren take Yang Qisheng away.

They first went to the front mountain to meet Ye Yunqiao.

Ye Yunqiao saw his master from afar and immediately ran over and knelt on the ground. Before he could speak, his eyes were already red and his voice was choked with sobs: "Master, Master..."

Taoist Mingyi responded calmly and motioned Yang Qisheng to bring over the Cloud-Taking Horse.

He waved his whisk, and a circle of fire suddenly appeared on the ground, gathering inward, wrapping the three people and the horse in a red cloud, soaring into the sky and straight into the clouds.

After flying in the sky for about a cup of tea, the master and his two disciples arrived at Longgao Mountain, the place of meditation of Mingyi Zhenren.

Longgao Mountain is hidden deep in the mountains and is rarely visited by people. According to legend, in ancient times, there were many dragons and snakes here. The ancients killed dragons and boiled ointment to make dragon lanterns, hence the name.

Although dragons and snakes still inhabit the mountains today, their numbers and species are far fewer than before. These spirits all know how powerful Master Mingyi is, so they dare not disturb him, and the situation remains peaceful.

The main peak of Longgao Mountain is called Shuyu Peak. The mountain is towering and reaches into the clouds, standing in a basin valley.

There are dozens of springs on the mountain, which flow down like waterfalls. At the foot of the mountain is a poisonous dragon pond, and behind the pond is the Zhaoye Cave.

Mingyi Zhenren led the two into the cave and said, "My master has just achieved a breakthrough in his realm and needs to retreat and cultivate."

Mingyi Zhenren first admonished Ye Yunqiao earnestly, "Cultivating for aliens is fraught with dangers and difficulties. That clam spirit has cultivated diligently for thousands of years and is on the verge of becoming a Daoist. Any serious cultivator would not only not harm it, but would protect it and help it achieve enlightenment! You haven't even set up the furnace to refine the evil spirit, but you already have such murderous intent. How will you suppress the murderous intent in your heart when you refine the evil spirit in the future?"

Ye Yunqiao burst into tears and fell to the ground in repentance: "Disciple knows I was wrong! From now on, I will strictly follow Master's teachings, be cautious about killing and abstain from killing, and never again have the thought of killing." "I heard that you have accumulated three hundred good deeds in the human world during this time?"

"It's absolutely true!" Ye Yunqiao replied quickly, "It's all real. It's a real achievement. I saved three to five hundred lives. It's absolutely true."

Mingyi Zhenren nodded: "Good! When doing good deeds, if you can feel the joy of others, you will naturally nourish your heart of kindness. Treasure kindness and frugality. With perseverance, you will be able to control your murderous desires instead of being controlled by them. This is the true path!"

After commending his disciple's good deeds, Master Mingyi assigned him a new assignment: "Last year, after expelling you from the sect, I personally traveled to Siming Lake and cast a spell to retrieve the clam spirit's soul. Fortunately, her thousand-year-old foundation in Taoism was profound, and you hadn't yet mastered the Gangsha Sword Qi, so her soul was saved. Now, her soul is enshrined in the pure bottle in the alchemy room. Practice the 'Lingbao Saving People Sutra' with Sheng'er to dispel the clam spirit's resentment. Then, gather herbs and refine a furnace of 'Soul-Consolidating Pills' for her to strengthen her body and essence. Once her body and spirit are stable, I will find her a suitable body for reincarnation. Once this meritorious service is complete, I will consider whether your murderous or compassionate nature predominates and decide whether to allow you to return to the sect."

Ye Yunqiao's eyes lit up after hearing this, and he kowtowed quickly: "Disciple will definitely complete it! I will definitely not let my master down!"

After instructing Ye Yunqiao, Mingyi Zhenren instructed Yang Qisheng, "Practice the Lingbao Five Talismans Sutra diligently and complete the foundation-building skills as soon as possible. Then, use the Lingbao Saving People Sutra to convert the twelve alien spirits in the bronze mirror. You didn't kill these monsters, so whether you help them to be reborn depends on your resolve. You can only resolve their resentment and strengthen their spirits before releasing them back to heaven and earth. Whether they will do good deeds or commit evil deeds in the future depends entirely on their own fate."

After giving his instructions, Mingyi Zhenren went to Shenglong Cave on the top of Shuyu Peak to go into seclusion, leaving Yang Qisheng and Ye Yunqiao to practice in Zhaoye Cave.

There were originally thousands of caves of various sizes in Zhaoye Cave, which were all relics dug by ancient ancestors when they lived here, slayed dragons, boiled ointments, and refined tools to make lamps.

After the arrival of Mingyi Zhenren, he used his great supernatural powers to extract the essence of Wu and Ji earth from the earth veins, driving the rocks to grow naturally, refilling most of the caves, and renovating the rest.

There were now a total of thirty-six caves. Aside from the sleeping cave used exclusively by Master Mingyi, and the shared hall, kitchen, water room, and alchemy room, the rest were empty. Now that only Ye Yunqiao and Yang Qisheng lived there, the cave seemed exceptionally spacious.

Ye Yunqiao returned to the cave where he used to live with ease and reorganized his daily necessities.

Yang Qisheng also chose an empty cave as his residence.

The two were originally pampered young masters. Yang Qisheng was a rich young master who had everything provided for him, while Ye Yunqiao had experience of wandering and begging, so he was not much better off than him.

Neither of them had any carpentry skills, so the beds, tables, and chairs they made were crooked and looked terrible, but they had the Five Magic Talismans, which could mobilize the essence of the five elements. With the help of immortal skills, they could make them look pretty good.

Ye Yunqiao had some experience in furniture making, so he took him to the surrounding mountains to cut down a thousand-year-old nanmu tree. He first used magic to slowly extract the moisture from the wood, and then cut it precisely with the sharp sword energy.

Although the furniture was crooked at first, thanks to the mysterious method of "carving with gold energy and nourishing with wood energy", it actually created a unique scene:
When two wooden boards are joined and injected with the essence of the wood element, they can grow naturally like living wood and fill the gaps; the legs of tables and chairs can be integrated with the main body like the roots of trees; it is even possible to make new branches grow on the surface of furniture and bear flowers and fruits.

Relying on this "endless" repair method, the furniture made by the two is not only sturdy and durable, but also has a fairy-like atmosphere.

Yang Qisheng made a large bed for sleeping, a cloud-wrapped couch for taking a nap or entertaining guests, a desk for writing and reading, and two chairs.

There are also wardrobes for storing clothes, cupboards for storing sundries, and tables for displaying items...

It's not that he was greedy for luxury, but in the process of making furniture, he constantly mobilized the essence of the five elements, "learned and practiced from time to time", and applied it to real life. As each piece of exquisite and beautiful furniture was made, he experienced unprecedented pleasure.

He made eight large pieces of furniture and twelve small ones by himself, and also helped Ye Yunqiao make a lot of them.

The most eye-catching is the "Mirror Tree" carefully designed by Yang Qisheng.

A tree-shaped wooden frame stretched out twelve branches in all directions, each branch had a bracket. He placed the twelve bronze mirrors he had obtained from the Golden Light Cave on it and lit a candle in front of the mirrors.
The candlelight in front of the mirror flickered, the golden light flowed, and the whole "mirror tree" was shining.

He placed this masterpiece in a specially designated cave, set up an incense table and offered fresh water and flowers, and every day he would guide the spirit in the mirror according to the method of the "Lingbao Duren Sutra".

The two of them worked together to build a stone altar for Ye Yunqiao's clam spirit: the center of the altar was sunken into a pool, filled with clear water, paved with pebbles, and stocked with small fish to nourish the clam spirit.

Ye Yunqiao also had a spiritual consciousness left in his head by Mingyi Zhenren back then, but when he was expelled from the sect, Mingyi Zhenren took it back. Now, only Yang Qisheng has the "Lingbao Sutra for Saving People" in his mind, and he told it to him orally.

The two of them occupied four cave rooms respectively: one for sleeping and one for meditation. Yang Qisheng finally began his life of cultivation in the ancient cave in the deep mountains.

(End of this chapter)