With virtue

The door creaked open.

The moonlight, like a white ribbon, poured down upon him.

Outside the gate, a hundred ghosts lurked, their flickering lights completely surrounding the small Taoist temple, as if it were an iron barrel.

The night wind howled, blowing the Taoist robe, and the old, worn-out cloth on the cuffs fluttered in the gusts of cold wind.

With a hundred ghosts in front of him, he appeared rather thin and shabby.

Then, Zhao Yunshu suddenly flipped his hand, and a jade box appeared in his hand.

Then, with a beaming smile, he said, "General, the item is right here, but the air is thick with yin energy, and I can't get out. Could you please ask the guards around here to make way so I can present it to you?"

The ghost general stood up amidst a hundred ghosts protecting him: "Alright."

As soon as he uttered those words, a red light flashed in his eyes.

Zhao Yunshu's body began to decay again!

White Bone Contemplation: Visualize the physical body decaying until it becomes white bones!

Zhao Yunshu cried out, as if he could no longer bear it, and limped along, hurriedly begging for mercy, "General! Please stop your supernatural powers! My feet are sore, it's really impossible for me to walk!"

Upon seeing this, the ghost general revealed a sneer, and the red light in his eyes faded: "Then come forward."

Zhao Yunshu quickly stepped forward: "General, you may not know this, but this thing was left behind by my master. To use it, a special method is needed, so General..."

"Oh, I see. Come here then."

With a wave of his hand, the ghost general dispersed the surrounding ghosts, creating a path through the middle of the painting.

Zhao Yunshu scanned the faces of the demons and monsters below the steps. Their expressions varied; some in front showed surprise and suspicion, while others were indifferent. In the back, a bloodthirsty zombie cautiously licked the child it had captured, wanting to eat but not daring to; a one-legged mountain demon leered at a woman.

Many ghosts, each with its own unique appearance, densely covered the mountain path, creating a magnificent picture of a hundred ghosts parading at night.

He stood alone outside the painting, gradually walking into it.

Seeing him like this, the ghosts looked at each other in bewilderment, while the ghost general's eyes flickered.

Zhao Yunshu carried the jade box and entered it.

Twenty steps.

Ten steps.

Five steps.

Three steps.

Three steps away from the ghost general, Zhao Yunshu stopped and presented the jade box with both hands: "General, please take a look."

The ghost general took two steps forward, reached out and grabbed the box, then opened it.

The jade box looked warm and smooth, but his palm had several cuts, and the wounds emitted a chilling aura. Some kind of intense yang energy was corroding his palm, making a sizzling sound.

Then, he reached out and tried to press down on Zhao Yunshu's head.

The beauty was startled, her eyes darting around: "General—"

Then the ghost general returned a glance.

The meaning in his eyes was very clear:

"Even as a ghost, he can still serve under me. What's wrong with that?"

In the exchange of glances, he pressed down with his palm, smashing Zhao Yunshu's head open with a crisp cracking sound.

Such a fine head, so crisp and lifeless, like the feeling and sound of a large blue stone in the mountains being crushed.

Ok?

With a clang, sparks flew from the neck of the zombie that had been licking the child not far away. Then, its neck bones snapped, its head rolled off, and the headless body swayed twice before collapsing into the dust.

The zombie, which had been licking the child's cheeks with its barbed tongue, leaving the child's face covered in blood, suddenly collapsed to the ground, and the child was gone.

At this moment, all the ghosts were terrified!

The beauty exclaimed in surprise, "An illusion!"

The ghost general looked into his palm and saw that what he was holding was indeed a piece of blue stone, stained with several streaks of blood that exuded strong yang energy. The blood hissed in the ghost general's hand, like boiling oil meeting water, scalding the yin energy in his palm. He clenched his five fingers and crushed the stone into powder, the stone chips falling from between his fingers.

Yes!

This unorthodox Taoist priest has been elusive from the very beginning until now, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, causing the general to exert force on the bluestone twice...

This Taoist priest is especially skilled in illusions. What kind of orthodox Taoist sect is this? He is indeed a heretic!

Meanwhile, the zombie's head was severed, and the child fell into Zhao Yunshu's hands. Taking advantage of the ghosts' still shock, he suddenly rushed towards the woman's location!

He rushed to the woman, reached out with his right hand, grabbed the ghostly rope binding her with his five fingers, and pulled hard. The rope, stained with blood on his palm, snapped in two when the yang energy surged through it.

The woman collapsed to the ground, muttering "Bodhisattva," her whole body trembling, unable to stand up.

Zhao Yunshu grabbed her and lifted her up, shouting, "Get out of here! I can't lift you!"

Upon hearing this, the woman suddenly became energized. She didn't know where she got the strength, but she let out a loud shout and rushed out with Zhao Yunshu!

The demons immediately pounced! They gave chase!

A red-capped mandrill leaped down from the branches of the surrounding forest. Its one leg was not very nimble, but its two fists were as fierce as drumsticks, aiming straight for his back.

Without turning his head, Zhao Yunshu tightened his grip on the child with his left hand, and with a flick of his right arm, the iron sword slid out from his sleeve, its blade reflecting a faint light, and positioned itself precisely in the path of the mountain demon's swooping attack.

The mountain demon couldn't stop in time, and its chest and abdomen collided with the sword blade. The blade cut three inches into its fur before being stuck by hard bone. Ignoring the fact that the sword blade had penetrated its flesh, it held onto the sword tightly and opened its mouth to bite down on the back of Zhao Yunshu's neck!

Zhao Yunshu angrily rebuked, "You stinking one-legged bastard! You shameless slut! You whore who sits on a roof of wild beans in your house! Get out of here!"

Upon being scolded, the mandrill let out a whimper, its ferocity vanished, and it immediately retreated.

The yellow book already says: Mountain demons are not very fearful, and they can steal things. They are most afraid of people who curse, and if they know someone is cursing them, they will curse loudly.

After being scolded by Zhao Yunshu, they indeed retreated!

At the same time, the ground churned, and several pale, skeletal hands burst out of the soil, growing wildly like bamboo shoots. When they grabbed and squeezed, their joints cracked, as if shackles were closing in at the same time. Zhao Yunshu's feet faltered, and his left foot was already held by several skeletal hands.

He bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood. The blood landed on his bone hand with a hissing sound, and the bones shattered. But more bones were pouring in from all directions.

He turned his head and saw that the bones were controlled by a skeleton child not far away. So he threw out the wooden box he had been holding, which landed right on the skeleton child's head.

The skeleton child immediately shrank back, curled up in the wooden box, and stopped moving.

According to the Records of Strange Phenomena, in the seventeenth year of the Zhenyuan era, Zhou Jichuan and his brother encountered a skeleton child late at night who mysteriously knocked on their door and demanded milk. They tried to drive it away with knives, sticks, large stones, and cloth bags, but to no avail. Later, after being advised by a wandering monk, they locked the child in a wooden box and finally sent it away.

The same was true of the skeleton child before him. After reading the yellow book, Zhao Yunshu covered his head with a wooden box and temporarily drove him away.

At that moment, the child on the shoulder let out a suppressed cry—another zombie crashed in from the side, its teeth exposed on half of its rotting cheek, and it opened its mouth to bite the child's leg.

There was no need to use any other means against a mere walking corpse. Zhao Yunshu turned around sharply, switched the sword to his left hand, and with a backhand stroke, sliced ​​off half of the walking corpse's head, then kicked it over.

He shouted again, "Run! Run west!"

The woman staggered behind, her face ashen, but she never stopped walking.

She had stopped chanting the Buddha's name; she just opened her mouth wide and gasped for breath, making a rough hissing sound in her throat. Every step she took sent pebbles flying, as if she wanted to exhaust all the strength she had in this life in those few dozen steps.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared ahead—countless clusters of phosphorescent flames coalesced into a wall, blocking the way. The dozens of ghostly flames emitted shrill cries of laughter and weeping, high and low, like the wailing of infants, the lamentations of old women, and the shouts of men and women all at once.

Zhao Yunshu was not afraid at all and charged straight at the ghost fire, which shattered it all!

The book says: Will-o'-the-wisps are all lingering embers, like horse blood, found in places where people die in battle and where war has struck. Long ago, a man was traveling at night in the Huai River region when he suddenly saw flickering flames blocking his road. The man was quite brave and rushed towards them, only to find that they all resembled human figures, like undecorated clay sculptures from temples and shrines, lingering embers, and were not to be feared.

With enough courage, one can disperse the will-o'-the-wisps; but if one is filled with fear, the will-o'-the-wisps can invade the heart, causing one to die of terror.

"His swordsmanship is poor, and his martial arts are only second-rate, but he is knowledgeable and knows the weaknesses of ghosts and monsters," the beauty commented.

The ghost general stared at Zhao Yunshu, who was trying to escape, seemingly wanting to see what he was capable of.

After the ghost flames, what appeared to be behind them were the true elite forces.

Those seemed to be the Ghost General's personal guards. Two skeletal warhorses stood side by side, with the ghost riders holding spears horizontally, the spear tips gleaming coldly like frost. The warhorses' skeletal eye sockets burned with light, and their front hooves pawed the ground, sending stone chips flying.

"Ghost soldiers." Zhao Yunshu's heart tightened.

Not all ghosts have weaknesses; these ghost soldiers can only be fought head-on.

Faced with these things—

Zhao Yunshu lunged forward and thrust out his sword!

Two spears came flying, ready to turn him into a sieve! Ghost Rider was a veteran of the battlefield in life, and after his death he trained without stopping for decades. His individual martial arts skills far surpassed Zhao Yunshu's. At this rate, he would die on the spot in one move!

Zhao Yunshu dodged slightly, his body almost sliding in along the spear shaft. The spear tip grazed his ear, and the chilling aura made his earlobe sting.

But the Ghost Rider simply twisted his wrist, and the two spears on his left and right attacked again, leaving him with no way to avoid them.

Both spears hit simultaneously—

"clang!"

A deafening roar, like the clash of metal, exploded in the night sky.

A blinding golden light suddenly burst forth from Zhao Yunshu's body. The light shone from his chest like a great bell, instantly deflecting the two lances more than two feet away. The tips of the lances drew two dazzling sparks on the golden light, but they didn't even pierce the hem of his clothes!

The two skeletal warhorses were startled and reared up, emitting silent neighs. The ghost riders on horseback were also shaken by the sudden golden light, and the rider in the middle even dropped his spear!

amulet!

He had already stuck it to his body long ago.

At that moment, the talisman blocked the way, and he plunged the iron sword into the head of the ghost rider. Blood mixed with cinnabar fell from his palm, and the ghost rider died without even uttering a sound.

The next ghost rider was also pounced on by Zhao Yunshu, who, with the help of the protective talisman, killed him once again!

But this took a few breaths.

Looking behind, Zhao Yunshu's path was cut off by the ghost riders for a few breaths, and hundreds of ghosts surged in from behind like a tide, with ghostly shadows layered upon each other in all directions, above and below, surrounding him at the core.

He pulled the child closer to his chest, switched to his right hand, held the sword horizontally in front of him, and slowly spun it around, its golden light shimmering.

"Come." He only said one word.

All the ghosts suddenly paused.

What an arrogant Taoist priest!

But those two ghost riders, already among the best of the hundred ghosts, were instantly obliterated in a matter of breath—

The demons were somewhat shrunken.

However, the beauty and the ghost general behind them simply watched.

Because they have already discovered it.

This Taoist priest is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

The beautiful woman, in particular, frowned slightly as she examined the iron sword in the Taoist's hand; it was just an ordinary magic sword.

She then saw the talisman he had just stuck on his body—it was nothing more than yellow paper and cinnabar, not some extraordinary talisman.

As for martial arts skills, while they're not exactly amateurish, they're at best second-rate.

But seeing the hundred ghosts cower in fear, the red light in the ghost general's eyes intensified once more, and he visualized the flesh decaying and the white bones being revealed.

The ghost general finally made his move.

But this time, Zhao Yunshu suddenly turned around and met his gaze.

In that instant, the red light in the ghost general's eyes suddenly flickered.

What happened?

Can't see it!?

The power of observing the Dharma has no inherent substance; the point of contention lies in what is "seen."

Everything in the world, whether it exists or not, exists.

Mountains and rivers possess spiritual energy, which can be seen by those who observe it, but not by those who do not. For those who have the skill to observe energy, it exists; for those who do not, it does not.

Imagine you are a Qi cultivator, but you can't even see or sense Qi. How can you cultivate Qi and practice your spirituality?

For example, ghosts certainly exist, but many ordinary people cannot see them with their naked eyes. Therefore, ghosts "do not exist" for ordinary people, so they cannot encounter them. When they encounter ghosts causing trouble, they can only spend money to hire a shaman, Taoist priest, or monk to deal with it.

In ancient times, Fuxi observed the celestial phenomena and surveyed the geography, thus creating the Eight Trigrams. The Buddha observed the three lifetimes and the cycle of reincarnation among sentient beings. Sages observed the stars and knew the rise and fall of the world. Therefore, the purpose of the Dharma is to "see what ordinary people cannot see and influence what ordinary people cannot influence."

All the various methods of spiritual practice in the world, in essence, all boil down to the word "contemplation," only each has its own method of contemplation and its own path.

Observing the stars to know the affairs of the world is to observe the changes in the Qi and fortune; a doctor observes the complexion to know the internal organs is to observe the symptoms of Qi and blood.

What you cannot see is vividly clear to them, and once they can see it, they can influence, utilize, and change it.

The essence of the White Bone Contemplation is actually seeing the future.

When "observing" the future, he saw his skeletal form.

The first level is to visualize his skin and flesh rotting; the second level is to visualize him decaying into pus; the third level is to visualize his internal organs turning to ash; and only in the fourth level can one visualize his bare bones.

These four levels of contemplation are the signs of success in the practice of the White Bone Contemplation. Having one level is considered a minor success, as it allows one to transform the future seen by the eyes into the present moment.

It allows people to skip the middle process directly, causing their physical body to decay instantly, even turning into bones.

But now, he can't see.

The ghost general discovered that he could no longer see the festering body of Zhao Yunshu!

Since we can't see it, we can't show that future either. Therefore, we can't let Zhao Yunshu's flesh and blood rot.

The beauty's expression changed upon seeing the ghost general, then she looked at Zhao Yunshu and said in a deep voice, "He also has the ability to observe magic!"

"He possesses the true teachings; we must not let him escape," the ghost general added.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yunshu thrust out with his sword.

At this moment, several swords appeared beside him, seemingly out of nowhere, and attacked all at once!

"It's just another illusion!" the ghosts shouted.

They already knew that this Taoist priest was skilled in illusion.

But they couldn't avoid it and were stabbed several times, leaving them with bloody holes!

Why does this Taoist's martial arts seem to have improved so much all of a sudden?

This is Zhao Yunshu's true teaching—

Interior landscape.