Junior sister, I really need to control you.

Chapter 87 Ghost Immortal Secrets, The Theory of Dharma Forms

Jiang Ningzhi in her bedroom.

When the topic turned to immortals, Li Yinsheng listened very attentively.

"After a True Person cultivates to the Dharma Aspect Realm, the next step is to attain immortality," Shangguan Ling'er said.

"You have experienced the process of breaking through from a mortal to a true immortal. Although with your talent, you should not have encountered any obstacles, you should also know that if you fail to break through to a true immortal, the consequences will be severe."

Li Yinsheng nodded: "So, this is also how a True Person breaks through to become an Immortal?"

"Similar, but a bit more complicated."

Shangguan Ling'er explained, "When a mortal breaks through to become a True Person, there are only two possible outcomes: success or failure. But when a True Person breaks through to become an Immortal, there are three possible outcomes."

"Three kinds?" Li Yinsheng was taken aback. "Where did this third kind come from?"

"It's possible, but it's not quite possible yet; it's only half successful," Shangguan Ling'er said.

Li Yinsheng was even more puzzled.

How can it possibly be even half successful?

"The consequences of failure are self-evident; the inevitable outcome is death and the annihilation of one's spirit."

"But for those who actually succeed in breaking through, there are two possible outcomes."

Shangguan Ling'er explained, "The process of a true immortal becoming an immortal can generally be seen as two steps: the first step is the immortalization of the soul, and the second step is the immortalization of the physical body."

"The superior one, with one burst of energy, achieves enlightenment, and his physical body and soul become immortals together, which is called a human immortal."

"Those of inferior ability, after their souls ascend to immortality, lack the strength to continue and have to abandon their physical bodies to become immortals solely through their souls. They are called ghost immortals, and are far inferior to human immortals."

"The magic weapon that Ningzhi mentioned, which is almost half transformed into a spiritual treasure, let's call it a quasi-spiritual treasure for now. Human immortals disdain using it; it's mostly used by ghost immortals."

"I see," Li Yinsheng nodded thoughtfully. "So, Fellow Daoist Shangguan means that only Human Immortals are considered true immortals?"

That's not what I meant!

Shangguan Ling'er immediately became anxious, looking as if she wanted to pounce on Li Yinsheng and cover his mouth.

"Do you know how difficult it is to become a Human Immortal? Most of the Supreme Elders in our lineage are Ghost Immortals! You must never utter a word like 'Ghost Immortals aren't considered Immortals'!"

"Unless you are a celestial being, then you can say so," the uncle said leisurely.

"With your talent, you might actually be able to cultivate into an immortal one day," Shangguan Ling'er shook her head, "but let's not talk about such things now."

Li Yinsheng nodded seriously, indicating that he had remembered.

"Although ghost immortals are not as powerful as human immortals, they are not beings that true cultivators can contend with," Shangguan Ling'er said. "Your Xuanzhen Temple was destroyed by a ghost immortal."

"A ghost immortal?" Li Yinsheng exclaimed in surprise. "Is it related to that quasi-spiritual treasure that my martial uncle mentioned?"

"That's right," Jiang Ningzhi nodded. "When we found that quasi-spiritual treasure, although it was shrouded in demonic energy, it looked dignified and upright, with a strong sense of righteousness."

"Moreover, there is always a pure and clear energy within it, struggling to survive amidst the demonic energy."

"We assumed that this quasi-spiritual treasure was originally a righteous magic weapon, but it had been corrupted by demonic energy, so we brought it back to the temple in an attempt to purify and remove the demonic energy within it."

"Isn't this too risky? Quasi-spiritual treasures are used by ghost immortals, so they should be extremely dangerous for a true immortal, right?" Li Yinsheng frowned.

"When I and other seniors made this decision, we naturally had the confidence to suppress it," Jiang Ningzhi said with a wry smile.

"The reason why the Baozhao Sutra was never copied is also here."

"In Xuanzhen Temple, there is a top-tier magic treasure for suppressing the temple, called the Zhaoxuan Stele. It can both store magic techniques and has a strong ability to suppress."

"Although it has not yet reached the level of a quasi-spiritual treasure, it is not far off, and the Baozhao Sutra is contained within it."

"To truly grasp the essence of the Baozhao Scripture, the techniques alone are insufficient. One must use the spiritual energy of the Zhaoxuan Stele to cleanse and refine the meridians and acupoints throughout the body before cultivation can commence. Otherwise, even if one forces cultivation, its power will be greatly diminished, resulting in diminishing returns."

"Correspondingly, any cultivator who has mastered the Precious Illumination Scripture can use and refine the Illumination Stele without refining it."

"Therefore, the Zhaoxuan Stele does not belong to any single True Person, but is shared by all True Persons of Xuanzhen Temple who cultivate the Baozhao Scripture."

"The true practitioners of the Precious Illumination Scripture, in addition to cultivating their own name-based magic treasures, also cultivate the Illumination Stele together, and pass it down from generation to generation."

"When Xuanzhen Temple does not encounter major events, the Zhaoxuan Stele is erected on the third floor of the Sutra Repository to teach the Baozhao Scripture to talented disciples and assist them in their cultivation."

"If we encounter a formidable enemy, the Great True Person with the highest cultivation of the Baozhao Scripture will take the lead, with the other True Persons who cultivate the Baozhao Scripture assisting them, and together they will activate the Zhaoxuan Stele to fight the enemy and break free from the predicament."

"The Zhaoxuan Stele has existed since the establishment of the Xuanzhen Temple. Before that, there was no shortage of Great Masters, and sometimes there were even two. As for the Masters who cultivated the Baozhao Scripture, there were sometimes three or four, and sometimes six or seven."

"Xuanzhen Temple has been established for over a thousand years, and the cultivation of the Zhaoxuan Stele has never been interrupted during this time."

Li Yinsheng gasped.

This magical artifact has been refined by countless True Immortals and Great True Immortals over thousands of years, and even in battle, it requires a Great True Immortal to take the lead and several True Immortals to work together to activate it.

Just hearing about its power made his scalp tingle.

"So, the reason you were so confident in suppressing that quasi-spiritual treasure was the Illuminating Stele?" he asked.

"That's right. Although I don't cultivate the Baozhao Sutra, there were six True Persons and one Great True Person in the temple at that time who cultivated the Baozhao Sutra. When they joined forces to activate the Zhaoxuan Stele, it was enough to suppress the Imperial Edict True Person head-on," Jiang Ningzhi said.

"The premise is that the Imperial Edict Master doesn't run away, and is really stupid enough to confront that thing head-on."

Shangguan Ling'er added, "Moreover, if we encounter a particularly strong Imperial Title True Person like my master, the outcome is hard to predict."

"With the Zhaoxuan Stele as our reliance, suppressing an unclaimed quasi-spiritual treasure should have been a sure thing." A bitter look appeared on Jiang Ningzhi's face.

"Unfortunately, it is not ownerless."

Li Yinsheng immediately realized: "Could it be that the Ghost Immortal has been hiding inside that quasi-spiritual treasure all along?"

"That's right," she nodded slightly, "and that quasi-spiritual treasure isn't a righteous spiritual treasure corrupted by demonic energy at all."

"On the contrary, the pure energy within that quasi-spiritual treasure must have been the work of a righteous immortal, who sealed the ghost immortal within his own quasi-spiritual treasure."

"We were short-sighted and misunderstood the key points, rashly bringing it back to the temple in the hope of refining away its demonic energy."

"But the demonic energy was originally generated by itself, and after years of refining, it has not decreased in the slightest."

"On the contrary, the pure energy within it is like water without a source or a tree without roots. After several years, it has become like a candle flickering in the wind."

"By the time we realized what was happening, the ghostly immortal broke free of its seal—"

As Jiang Ningzhi finished speaking, she gently closed her eyes.

"Although the Zhaoxuan Stele is powerful, how could it suppress a ghost immortal? That person went on a killing spree, and at that time, everyone in the temple, from the immortals to the ordinary disciples, was killed or injured."

"At that time, my cultivation was close to the Dharma Aspect level. I fought him to the death, but even at the cost of my meridians and foundation, I had no chance of winning. I only managed to entangle with him for a while."

"Then the Supreme Elder of the lineage noticed the presence of that ghost immortal, and that person fled with the Illumination Stele."

"Although I survived by sheer luck, the Xuanzhen Temple was almost completely wiped out in this battle. Only a few disciples who were not in the temple at the time survived. And then—you know what happened next."

After listening to what Uncle Jiang said, Li Yinsheng remained silent.

He also understood why Uncle Jiang had never mentioned this matter to him before.

Aside from the fact that mentioning it too early would not benefit her, she probably also thought it was because the matter was not honorable.

Ultimately, the great calamity of Xuanzhen Temple originated from that quasi-spiritual treasure, which was brought back by the group of martial uncles.

The fault lay with the ghost immortal, but Xuanzhen Temple ultimately perished at the hands of the current generation of true masters, including my uncle.

"Does Uncle-Master have any clue about the identity of that ghost immortal?" Li Yinsheng asked.

Jiang Ningzhi gently shook her head.

"That person left too quickly, leaving very few clues. The lineage was later investigated, and although it was suspected that the person was a Supreme Elder of the Heavenly Demon Palace, it could not be confirmed with absolute certainty."

Shangguan Ling'er also shook her head and said, "As for which Supreme Elder it is, there is no way of knowing."

"In the Heavenly Demon Palace, there is one human immortal and six ghost immortals. Does anyone know which of the six ghost immortals this is?"

"That person might not even be from the Heavenly Demon Palace, but from another demonic force."

Li Yinsheng remained silent.

If that person is from the Heavenly Demon Palace, it would be easier to handle. In any case, he originally had the idea of ​​going to Thousand Insect Valley if his cultivation progressed in the future.

The Heavenly Demon Palace and the Thousand Insect Valley are quite similar. When he has the ability to visit the Thousand Insect Valley, he will naturally be able to visit the Heavenly Demon Palace as well.

But if it weren't for the Heavenly Demon Palace—

The vast and boundless mountains stretch endlessly; who knows where that person has already run off to?

Just as he was having a headache, Uncle Jiang spoke softly.

"Yinsheng, although I have told you about this matter, it is ultimately my and my fellow senior brothers and sisters' fault, and has nothing to do with you."

"If I ever regain my cultivation, I will condense my Dharma form, become a human immortal, and go find that person to avenge the entire Xuanzhen Temple."

"You are far more talented than me. You weren't even born when this happened, so you bear no responsibility whatsoever."

She grasped Li Yinsheng's hand and said earnestly, "Only I can avenge this grudge myself. You only need to focus on your cultivation and don't need to think about it."

Li Yinsheng hesitated for only a moment before nodding in agreement: "I understand, Uncle-Master."

Now it seems that this matter has become a knot in my uncle's heart. If she has the opportunity to take revenge herself, it would be best if she did it herself.

Only if his martial uncle truly has no chance of taking revenge will he need to overstep his bounds and take matters into his own hands.

"It's a pity," Shangguan Ling'er sighed, "Although your martial uncle's cultivation technique is only average, the Dharma form he wants to condense is extraordinary."

"A superior-grade Dustless Sword Soul Dharma Image! If Ningzhi were to truly master it, he might not be inferior to my master, and his chances of becoming an immortal would be at least 30%."

"A superior Dharma form?" Li Yinsheng asked immediately. "Could it be that Dharma forms are also divided into different levels, and that these levels are related to breaking through to immortality?"

"That's right. There are different levels among the Dharma forms, and the breakthrough to immortality of the soul relies on the power of the Dharma form."

Shangguan Ling'er explained, "The strength of a Dharma form itself is naturally closely related to the difficulty of becoming an immortal."

"You've entered a state of spiritual immersion. Even if you didn't ask, I still had to tell you this," she patted Li Yinsheng on the shoulder. "It's fine that you cultivated in a daze before, it wasn't a big problem."

"But the step of condensing the Dharma form must not be taken lightly!"

"Ling'er is right," Jiang Ningzhi said. "It was my oversight before. I didn't expect you to progress so quickly, so I didn't explain it to you in detail."

"Once a cultivator reaches the stage of Divine Travel, unless they feel that there is no hope for further advancement and intend to focus on continuing the lineage, they must carefully consider the matter of condensing a Dharma Image if they wish to go further."

"Uncle-Master, Fellow Daoist Shangguan, please explain in detail," Li Yinsheng said hurriedly.

"The so-called Dharma form is the result of a cultivator's efforts to gather and integrate his essence, energy, and spirit."

Shangguan Ling'er said seriously, "This step was called 'Three Flowers Gathering at the Top' in the ancient cultivation system a long time ago, but there was no distinction between the different levels of 'Three Flowers Gathering at the Top'."

"Compared to the ancient cultivators who simply integrated their essence, energy, and spirit, the current Dharma Aspect realm has many more supernatural abilities and can help cultivators break through to become immortals."

"However, correspondingly, the process of condensing a Dharma form is much more complex than the process of gathering three flowers at the top of the head. These additional functions have led to a distinction between different levels of Dharma forms."

"The stronger the innate supernatural power, the more significant the help it will be to a cultivator when they become an immortal, and that is a superior-grade Dharma form; otherwise, it will be a mid-grade or low-grade Dharma form."

Li Yinsheng nodded and pressed on, "Then, Fellow Daoist Shangguan, how does one condense a superior-grade Dharma Image?"

"This is what a great master who aspires to go further values ​​most," Shangguan Ling'er said. "In short, your foundation determines the level at which you can condense your Dharma form."

"Any factor that can enhance one's fundamental strength will elevate one's Dharma form to a higher level. For example, the quality of one's cultivation techniques, auxiliary cultivation methods, the strength of one's natal magic weapon, whether one possesses superior techniques, etc."

"Simply learning superior techniques is useless," Uncle Jiang added. "The Xuan Sha Xiong Xiang Sword technique that I taught you is also a superior technique, but you must practice it to a high level before it will be beneficial for condensing a Dharma image."

"Yes," Shangguan Ling'er nodded, nudging Li Yinsheng's shoulder, "Let's take your current situation as an example."

"Your Qi cultivation technique is terrible, which will make you much weaker than other Great Immortals when you condense your Dharma Form."

"But your profound body-refining cultivation makes up for this, and if you combine the two, you will have an advantage over ordinary Great True Persons in condensing your Dharma Image."

"Similarly, if you don't practice the techniques well, it will also affect your ability to condense the Dharma form."

"But I can sense that your natal magic weapon is very strong, so you have another boost in condensing your Dharma form."

"There are many other factors as well," she said, counting on her fingers. "For example, for cultivators who practice beast taming, a powerful natal beast can also help in condensing a Dharma body."

"The alchemy skills of alchemists, the weapon-making skills of weapon cultivators, the array skills of array cultivators, and the talisman-drawing skills of talisman cultivators—all of these are beneficial for condensing a Dharma image."

"So many?" Li Yinsheng was somewhat surprised.

What surprised him even more was that, apart from the fact that his cultivation technique was indeed inadequate, everything else about Shangguan Ling'er seemed to be advantageous to him.

In terms of techniques, he already possesses 512 sword lights, and there is also the Xuan Sha Xiong Xiang Sword with 256 sword lights. He will show them to his uncle and fellow Daoist Shangguan in a moment.

He admitted that he had the idea of ​​showing off, but he had been slashed by his junior sister for decades because of these sword lights, so why couldn't he show off?

As for magical treasures, the Azure Sword has been nurtured for nearly a hundred years. Although he felt it was still lacking, there would be time to continue nurturing it when he received the reward in the future, so it wasn't a big problem.

He didn't know anything about taming beasts, but he did know a little about taming insects; the Crimson Mosquito was a pretty good exotic insect.

He considered his mastery of formation techniques to be quite good. Although he felt it wasn't quite enough at the moment, like the Azure Sword, he believed that as he received more rewards in the future, the Chess Soul would not disappoint him.

He just needs to make time to visit Yutan Temple. He has learned all the books on formations that he can, and he needs to acquire new knowledge.

"In addition, there are some rare and precious materials that are beneficial for condensing Dharma forms, but these are not precious in the ordinary sense."

Shangguan Ling'er seemed to have gotten addicted to talking. She felt a strange sense of satisfaction in giving a popular science lesson to Li Yinsheng, a cultivator whose cultivation was no less than hers but who was very ignorant.

Li Yinsheng had to interrupt her temporarily, saying, "Fellow Daoist Shangguan, regarding the technique you mentioned earlier, I don't think I'm bad at it either."

"You're not bad?" Shangguan Ling'er looked Li Yinsheng up and down. "Your dear martial aunt just revealed all your secrets."

Jiang Ningzhi coughed lightly and glared at Shangguan Ling'er.

My nephew is so young, he's focused on cultivation, so what if he doesn't have time to practice incantations? Why are you nitpicking!

Why don't you just ask my nephew to become an immortal in his twenties!

"During this period, I helped Huangzhu Temple oversee operations and also had a duel with a true master, which led to a minor enlightenment," Li Yinsheng explained.

"What kind of enlightenment can a body cultivator who bullies a worm cultivator have?" Shangguan Ling'er rolled her eyes without any politeness.

Although they had only known each other for less than a day, with Jiang Ningzhi acting as a liaison, she seemed to have become quite familiar with Li Yinsheng during their conversation.

"It's a bit troublesome to explain," Li Yinsheng smiled slightly, "Why don't you and Fellow Daoist Shangguan come out with me, and I'll demonstrate."

"Come on! I'm really curious to see what you can show!"

Shangguan Ling'er immediately got up and helped Jiang Ningzhi, who looked worried, to walk outside.

"Let me make this clear first, my standards are exceptionally high!"