Mysterious World: I Have a Lost Heavenly Court

At the town gate, amidst the seven emotions and six desires.

Lu Changqing strode in and traveled a short distance.

The cloying, rotten smell lingered in the air, and the buzzing of the seven-emotion flies could be faintly heard in the distance.

After passing through two alleys, in the small square ahead, the prostitutes, each with a unique face, still sat on the edge of the dry well, their bare feet dangling in the air, their thin veils fluttering gently in the breeze.

She looked up, and the moment her ever-changing face saw Lu Changqing, a very faint smile appeared on her face.

Four semi-transparent phantom arms stretched out from behind, and a seductive power surged silently like a tide.

Lu Changqing did not stop.

He raised his right hand, his five fingers slightly spread, and a ball of blazing white flame with a faint golden glow rose from his palm.

The moment the pure yang fire appeared, the invisible and intangible alluring power seemed to have hit a wall of fire, dissipating on its own three feet away from him.

For the first time, the smile of the prostitute with a thousand faces changed.

It wasn't the confident, nonchalant smile from before, but rather a deeply human-like look of surprise and disbelief.

His eyes flickered a few times.

She simultaneously formed hand seals with her four arms behind her back, and dark pink light intertwined to form a net that enveloped Lu Changqing from head to toe.

Lu Changqing's eyes remained unchanged.

The attacks that had previously had a strong impact on him were no longer a threat.

He used his waist and abdomen to lower his body and threw a punch.

The pure yang fire on the fist suddenly erupted, and the blazing white flames tore a huge gap in the net of light.

And with undiminished momentum, it burned towards the banshee herself!

The thousand-faced prostitute floated back, and four illusory arms simultaneously blocked forward. The pure yang fire collided with the illusory arms, and those translucent limbs, like thin paper soaked in oil, instantly burst into flames.

"ah--!"

The banshee let out a sharp screech, her four phantom arms twisting wildly in the flames, yet she could not shake off the blazing white light.

Now, the pure Yang energy within Lu Changqing's body has become even more abundant.

The quality is also vastly different now!

Once it gets on you, it's like a maggot clinging to your bone; the evil spirit will never be extinguished until it's burned away!

Lu Changqing stepped forward, drawing his spirit sword.

The sword was entwined with pure Yang fire and Yin evil black energy, and then it slashed down!

The faces of the thousand prostitutes, each with a unique expression, shifted wildly amidst the flashing swords.

But this time, Lu Changqing's sword did not hesitate for a moment.

The sword falls, and fire erupts!

Pure Yang fire poured out from the sword blade, engulfing the banshee along with her four burning phantom arms!

A piercing cry rang out from the flames, then silence fell.

When the flames died down, only a thin, gossamer-like garment remained on the ground, lying quietly in the center of the ashes.

【Thousand-Faced Veil: After wearing it, one can change their appearance and aura at will.】

The object being changed must have been seen by the user in person.

Maintain this position for the duration of one incense stick burning.

"Not only can it change appearance, but it can even change one's aura?"

Lu Changqing was somewhat surprised.

Because for martial artists and Taoist cultivators, each person has unique qi and blood.

Some masters possess formidable breath-holding techniques, preventing them from revealing their presence.

But no one has ever been able to change their appearance and aura at the same time.

"nice one!"

"This thing may not be useful for now, but from a strategic perspective, it will definitely be useful in the future!"

Lu Changqing picked up the gauze dress; it was cool and silky to the touch, and so light that he could hardly feel its weight.

He put the gauze garment into his spatial storage and, without lingering, continued walking deeper into the town.

As you cross the square, the street ahead gradually narrows, and the houses on both sides become even more dilapidated.

After walking for about half a cup of tea's time, he suddenly heard a very clear sound coming from ahead.

It sounded like a glass bead hitting a bluestone slab.

Lu Changqing stopped as he turned the corner.

In the open space in front of an abandoned courtyard, several small figures were squatting on the ground.

There are several children.

Their outlines were blurry, like silhouettes drawn with very light ink on yellowed rice paper.

It has no facial features, no hair, and not even the details of its fingers.

It was just a few small human figures, squatting on the ground in a circle.

One of the silhouettes is reaching out and flicking a gray-white marble.

The marble bounced twice on the bluestone slab before hitting another marble with a crisp sound.

Then the outline of the marble raised its head, and its featureless face turned towards Lu Changqing, as if looking at him.

【Obsession's Lingering Shadow - The Faceless Child】

[Source: When the town was destroyed, several children playing in the street were instantly drained of their emotions by the demonic influence of the scriptures. Their emotions were devoured by the scriptures, their physical bodies dissipated, leaving only a lingering, emotionless, and memoryless remnant of their obsessions. They do not attack any living beings, but simply relive their games from their previous lives in various corners of the town.]

[Mechanics: They have only one emotion—play. If you accept their invitation to play, one of the Faceless Children will give you a marble after the game.]

After reading the information on the panel, Lu Changqing put away his spirit sword.

Seeing that he didn't move, the faceless child tilted its featureless head, then stretched out its hand, pointed to the marbles on the ground, then to Lu Changqing, and finally to itself—

The movements were clumsy, but the meaning was clear: Do you want to play with us?

Lu Changqing paused for a moment, then squatted down and took the marble from the small, round shape in the hand.

The marble felt slightly cool to the touch, and a small wisp of mist swirled in the center of its translucent body.

He imitated the child's movements and flicked the marble out.

The marble bounced twice on the bluestone slab and hit another marble.

The outlines of those faceless children lit up for a moment simultaneously; though there was no sound, their movements noticeably quickened—

One of them trotted off to pick up the marbles, another clapped its hands vigorously, and the third squatted next to Lu Changqing, extending its blurry fingers and enthusiastically pointing out which direction to flick the marbles on the ground.

Lu Changqing played with them for four or five rounds. When he stood up, the faceless child who was playing marbles picked up a marble from the ground, held it in his two little hands, and stood on tiptoe to hand it to him.

[Obtain the Faceless Child Marble]

[Effect: When worn close to the body, the marbles will automatically emit a warning when faced with negative emotions, keeping the wearer's mind clear and preventing them from falling.]

[Note: This marble has been bouncing for a hundred years. When it hits the ground, it makes a sound, not from glass hitting stone, but from the child saying, "See, I haven't lost yet."]

Lu Changqing took the marble, feeling its cool touch on his fingertips, and the constantly swirling mist at the center of the marble.

He glanced down at the tiny outlines; they had already squatted back on the ground, continuing to play marbles, as if nothing had happened.

He carefully put the marbles away from his body, then turned and continued walking deeper into the town.

Lu Changqing felt a slight sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration and regret).

The entire town died because of their desires, but these children, whose faces were never even preserved, survived a century of inner demons.

As you pass through the alley where the Faceless Child is located, the air ahead suddenly becomes heavy.

Lu Changqing looked up.

Deep within the town, in front of a dilapidated ancestral hall, two figures stood guard at the entrance.

The one on the left is burly, with dark red skin, bulging muscles, and arms thicker than an average person's thighs.

It has no head above its neck; instead, there is a constantly churning dark red mist, within which a distorted human face can be vaguely seen.

With each breath, sparks shot out from the mist, hitting the ground and leaving a small scorch mark.

fury.

The one on the right is the complete opposite.

Its body was bloated, and its skin was grayish-white, like a lump of dough that had been soaked in water.

It sat cross-legged on the ground, its two extremely thin arms hanging down from its bulky body, its fingertips drooping limply to the ground.

Its head is very small, with only one eye on its face, half-open and half-closed, with a dilated pupil and a bewildered smile on its lips.

Foolishness.

Lu Changqing did not stop.

Pure Yang fire rose from his palm, and the spirit sword was drawn from its sheath.

Enrage was the first thing to react.

"What gives you the right to come here!"

"Die!"

Its headless body suddenly turned towards Lu Changqing, and the dark red mist around its neck suddenly expanded, letting out a muffled thunderous roar.

The sound waves were as if they were real, carrying scorching air currents as they crashed towards Lu Changqing, causing the bluestone slabs on the ground to crack inch by inch in the roar.

Lu Changqing sidestepped the frontal attack and slammed his left fist, imbued with pure Yang fire, into the enraged chest.

Enraged, he didn't back down but instead advanced, swinging his two thick arms simultaneously and slamming them down on Lu Changqing in the most brutal way.

Its fighting style has no rules; it is purely turning anger into power, each punch like forging iron, each strike carrying the force to shatter metal.

Lu Changqing did not confront it head-on. He used the Hundred Ghosts Illuminating God Step to weave through its fist shadows, and the pure yang fire continuously left scorch marks on its dark red skin.

The foolish one has moved.

It didn't stand up, but simply raised its half-open, half-closed eyes to look at Lu Changqing.

An invisible and intangible sense of bewilderment emanated from that single eye, enveloping the space within a radius of several feet.

Lu Changqing felt his consciousness pause slightly.

It wasn't alluring, but pure drowsiness.

Then the marble on his chest lit up slightly.

A faint coolness emanated from the bead, spreading along the meridians to the spiritual center, dispelling all drowsiness.

Lu Changqing ignored the foolish man and slashed back at his furious attack with his sword, while making a hand seal with his left hand.

Dragon spouting water.

The water jet precisely dribbled onto the fool's half-open eye.

The fool let out a very low gurgling sound, its bloated body trembled violently, and its one eye finally closed completely.

The mist around his furious neck swelled to its limit.

It sensed its companion's defeat, and its anger reached its peak.

With both arms outstretched, it lunged at Lu Changqing in the most ferocious manner.

Lu Changqing did not dodge. The pure yang fire on his fist suddenly erupted and collided head-on with his furious fists.

boom--

The pure yang fire exploded upon impact, hissing as it burned the dark red skin on the furious man's arms.

With a final, earth-shattering roar, the dark red mist around its neck twisted and shrank in the flames, eventually turning to ashes along with its massive body.

The foolish end was without even a struggle.

Lu Changqing pierced its single eye with his sword, and pure yang fire exploded from the inside, burning its bloated body to ashes.

Lu Changqing sheathed his spirit sword.

The ancestral hall's doors were wide open. Inside, there were no statues of gods or offering tables, only a tattered scripture with a dark golden sheen floating in the air, slowly rotating on its own.

The scriptures do not emit strong fluctuations, but they have an undeniable presence.

It's as if the town's time, space, and all the obsessions and emotions of the demons are just scraps spilling out from this book.

Lu Changqing reached out and grasped the scripture.

It feels warm to the touch, and the five words on the cover are slightly warm.

The seven emotions and six desires are a source of suffering.

"Got it!"

"Now we have the cultivation techniques for the later stages of the Liquid Condensation Realm!"

"Even setting aside how powerful this scripture actually is, the fact that I don't have to serve under the imperial court or be subject to its control is enough!"

He let out a long breath.

As Lu Changqing turned to the first page, he sat down cross-legged.

Golden characters floated from the pages of the book, each one disappearing into his brow.

The pool of spiritual liquid in his dantian suddenly boiled the moment the scripture entered his body.

With each golden character that enters the dantian, the spiritual liquid is compressed further, becoming more condensed and clearer.

The liquid spiritual energy that had been quietly settling at the bottom of the dantian now began to circulate on its own, flowing through the meridians according to the circulatory path recorded in the scriptures.

At the end of each cycle, a faint golden line appears in the spiritual liquid, like a pure gold thread that has been melted into it.

The essence of spiritual power in the Condensation Realm is "spiritual liquid transformation", which compresses the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into a liquid state and stores it in the dantian.

The cultivation path of the Seven Emotions and Six Desires Suffering Sutra is to further refine it on this basis: using emotions as fuel and divine consciousness as a furnace, the impurities in the spiritual liquid are burned away layer by layer, leaving only the purest original spiritual power.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Changqing slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were clear as a mirror, without a trace of impurity or any superfluous emotion.

He can clearly feel every emotion he has.

The desire to become stronger, the obsession to protect his family, the murderous intent towards Qin Yuan, and the vigilance towards the Wanxian Army.

All emotions existed clearly in his consciousness, but no longer fought independently or interfered with each other as before.

They are governed by some higher level of divine consciousness, becoming a force that can be perceived and manipulated, rather than instincts that may go out of control at any time.

He looked down at his palm and gently clenched his fist.

The pool of spiritual liquid in his dantian had decreased by nearly 30% compared to before.

But every remaining drop was crystal clear, with golden patterns flowing slowly in the liquid spiritual energy, like a gold vein in lava.

The total quantity has decreased, but the quality has more than doubled.

This is the necessary path to take after condensation.

Compression, quenching, and purification.

This lays the foundation for future condensation crystallization and solidification of the liquid.

[Taoist Teachings: The Sutra of Suffering from the Seven Emotions and Six Desires - Fragment (Minor Completion, 0/5000)]

[Passive Ability - Emotional Awareness: Greatly increases resistance to emotional attacks; allows the user to subtly sense the emotional fluctuations of surrounding beings.]

[Passive Ability - Desire Resolution: During cultivation, distracting thoughts generated will automatically be converted into cultivation resources, no longer affecting cultivation efficiency.]

After reading about the changes in abilities brought about by the scriptures, Lu Changqing's lips curled up slightly.

"Now my cultivation will be twice as effective with half the effort!"

"and..."

"Now, when facing that joyful evil spirit, I'm probably immune to most of its abilities!"

He took one last look at the dilapidated ancestral hall, then, with a slight thought, withdrew from the ancient ruins.

Tonight's harvest has been plentiful enough.

And he is one step closer to breaking through to the Condensation Realm.